Dire Consequences
by MrAndMrsMulholland
Summary: This story is set between season 4 and 5. Kate is about to get her promotion, but something is preventing it. Mike wants to find out but all actions have consequences; Dire consequences! Will the relationship hold? Start reading I would say!
1. I Mike

**Dire consequences**

**Mike **

This morning I got a phone call from Maxine White. She wanted me at Navcom because there was some news she wanted to share with me. Although she couldn't say it out loud I knew it was going to be the news of Kate's promotion. The Hammersley was going to sail tomorrow and I hoped it would be with Kate as the new CO. Maxine had been a little bit vague but I just blamed that on the fact she had to follow the right procedures. She couldn't tell me about a promotion before the person itself had been informed.

The door to Maxine's office was still closed which I hadn't expected. Kate had been asked to come in about an hour ago and papers for her promotion wouldn't take that long to be signed. Had Kate already got her promotion? Had she been ordered to go straight to work? Or was there a problem and were they still going over some details? I wanted to walk past the office and take a quick glance inside when suddenly the door swung open. "Lieutenant McGregor." "Kate!" Maxine yelled while rushing through the door of her office, trying to keep up with Kate who had stormed out.

Kate didn't stop at Maxine's request and managed to run away towards the door. Maxine did stop chasing Kate though, looking around a bit embarrassed. "Mike," she said when she saw me. "I need you in my office in five minutes. I'm going to—" she said pointing in the direction Kate had fled before she walked away in the same direction as Kate. I wanted to go into Maxine's office but before I could two men walked out. Two guys who weren't in navy uniform and who, more alarmingly, were most likely federal police. Who else could it be? The only civilians entering this building were feds. I couldn't think of a reason why they would be here but it had to do something with Kate and the fact she hadn't received a promotion.

Maxine came back looking concerned. "What happened?" I asked her before she could even sit down. "Well I," she started prior to sitting down. "The brass doesn't think Kate is ready for it yet. They want her to get some more hours in before she's ready to become Hammersley's new CO," Maxine explained. I just shook my head. What did they want from her? She was the best and Maxine had agreed on that matter. I didn't understand it at all. "How long?" I asked. "I didn't get a real time limit to it," Maxine replied. "Could you talk to Kate. She's upset and disappointed and left. I wanted to let her know it wasn't my decision and that she has my vote, but it's not all up to me," she asked me. I nodded. "Of course I'll talk to her. I'll go and talk to her right now," I said but Maxine stopped me. "You can go and talk to her after we discussed a few things," she said, making sure I wouldn't leave her office just yet. "Can't that wait?" I wondered. I really thought talking to Kate was more important right now. "No it can't," Maxine answered. "The Hammersley will sail tomorrow and you're still her CO. You will remain in that position until the Brass think Kate is suitable to replace you," she said. "Wait, stop. I'm going to stay on as CO?" I wondered out loud, not really thinking what Maxine would think about it or if she would suspect anything about the tone I said it in. "Well, yes," she stammered, noticing my reluctance to stay on board. "If I replace you with someone else right now it will be very hard to give the position to Kate whenever the Brass thinks she's ready. That's why you've got to stay," she explained.

It was a reasonable explanation but I didn't have to like it. Kate wouldn't like it, for sure. It was her place I was occupying and besides that, me staying on board would mean our relationship would be on hold even longer. I sighed and looked at Maxine who was looking at me, probably wondering what I was thinking. I wished I could tell her that I didn't want to stay on board of the Hammersley or why, but I couldn't do that, not without exposing my relationship with Kate. As a friend Maxine would understand but as our boss she would have to take actions which would get us both in a lot of trouble.

"Now," Maxine started. "I've got Hammersley's new assignment right here. You're going to patrol south of the Orlan Island. Nothing special just a routine patrol," she said while she gave me a folder. "Who's patrolling the Island itself? I mean, we went there a few months ago. Wouldn't it be logical if we go there again?" I wondered. Maxine gave me a cheeky grin and tipped her head slightly. "And I thought you wouldn't want to go back there after your near death experience. Well, I'm sorry Mike, but the Kingston already got their assignments to patrol there. I'll keep in mind you want to go back there if we ever need another patrol there," she said.

It didn't really matter where we had to patrol, anywhere would be great, as long as we were at sea. I loved the sea but since I was almost killed not too long ago I started to look at things differently. My love for the sea would never die but my love for Kate grew every day. I needed her, I wanted her and that wasn't going to happen soon. I still couldn't understand what had gone wrong earlier this morning. I fell silent in a loss for words and the only thing I could do was look around the office. I saw the two vacant chairs and remembered the two guys who I couldn't place in this whole ordeal. "Who were they?" I wondered out loud. Maxine looked at me before she looked at the empty chairs almost as if she had expected my question. "You don't need to know everything Mike. Sometimes it's best if you don't know," she answered. I let out an irritated gasp. "That is crap and you know it," I said, unable to hide my irritation. "Kate McGregor, someone I thought was more than suitable to replace me, and so did you, is _not_ getting her stripe while two guys are present and you're telling me that it's best for me not to know? I want to understand! Understand why my—" I almost said girlfriend. "—XO is deprived of what she deserves," I said. Maxine gave me a sorrowful look but wasn't going to give me any more information. "Go and talk to her," she said. I stood up, angrily, and walked away. Before I left the office I turned around and said: "I will find out what happened even if you won't talk to me."


	2. II Kate

**Kate**

It was late at night and I wanted to rest before I had to go on patrol tomorrow for a fortnight. After a long and emotional day I needed the rest physically and most of all to clear my head. From Navcom I had gone straight home and locked myself in. Tomorrow I would face the world again but I needed to be on my own today. I looked at my phone which had stopped ringing and the person at the door, I knew it was Mike, finally left. Mike had tried to call me on both phones, regular and mobile, but it was best if I didn't talk to him right now. He clearly was persistent and had come round to my place, hoping it would make a difference, but I had nothing to say. If I would talk I would probably say the wrong things and that was the last thing I wanted to do. This morning Maxine called me to tell me to come in for a chat. I was almost certain it was about me getting a promotion to lieutenant commander. All the signs were right. Mike had added my name to the list. Maxine had approved and had sent my name to Canberra. Today was the right time for her to get a reaction back. What else could it have been? I was really excited about it so after Maxine had called I made a call myself, to Mike, to let him know what was happening. The promotion and the posting of CO would mean so much more. Me being posted as Hammersley's CO would mean Mike would return to Navcom and therefore we wouldn't be on the same ship anymore. We would finally be able to explore our personal relationship. In the past couple of hours all my dreams and hopes of a happy and relaxed future were thrown back at me. No promotion and no relationship with Mike. Of course I was disappointed but being angry wouldn't help me or give me my well deserved promotion any quicker. I had gone home, cried a bit and tried to put myself together again to make sure I would be the best XO of Hammersley the Brass had ever seen.

The next morning I woke up a long time before my alarm clock. I wondered why that was but then I heard a noise, something I had thought was part of a dream. I rolled out of my bed, put on something decent and walked out of my bedroom to find out where the noise came from. It was still dark outside and the clock in my kitchen told me I could have slept for another hour. I heard the noise again coming from my front door. I opened it just a little to see Mike Flynn on the other side almost pushing himself in before I could shut the door and go back to my bed. "I brought you breakfast. I'll fix it for you while you tell me what happened yesterday," he said, walking straight to my kitchen. "Mike," I protested, quickly shutting the door and then follow him. "You know what time it is? You can't do this and expect me to talk to you. Actually I'm not going to talk at all, I'm going back to bed," I said before I walked back to my bedroom and crawled back underneath the blanket. For some reason I thought he would follow me but he didn't. I did however hear him pottering around in my kitchen. I tried to listen and figure out what he was doing but I couldn't. My eyes were closed and the sounds came from far away until I didn't hear anything anymore.

My blanket was pulled back and a cold breeze crept over me. It woke me up. I opened my eyes and saw Mike holding a cup filled with a steaming liquid. "I made you a brew," he said. I shifted in my bed and tried to sit upright. "I think I fell asleep again," I stammered. My eyes were open but I wasn't really awake yet. "Well, it's time to wake up," Mike said. "I made you breakfast," he said pointing at a tray which stood on my bedside table. "And you want to talk," I said, not too happy about it. "Well," Mike started. "You kept ignoring my attempts to talk to you yesterday and I do want to talk to you before we sail." I shrugged as an answer. I had ignored his attempts because I did not want to talk to him and that hadn't changed. "What happened?" Mike asked. I could see his concern in his eyes which made me feel just a little bit sorry for my attitude towards him. "What did Maxine tell you?" I wondered. This time Mike shrugged. "Not much. The Brass don't think you're ready for it and Maxine decided to keep me on as CO until they do," he answered with a sigh. Instead of saying anything I took the tray filled with food and placed it on my lap. Mike had made me some toast, scrambled eggs and a bit of bacon. What was he thinking? If I would eat all of that I would have to be rolled unto the Hammersley. I decided to just eat some toast and took a bite before I looked at Mike. "I don't understand Kate. What do you need to show them before they do believe you're ready?" he asked when he saw he had my attention. I had my mouth full of toast and couldn't do much more than shrug so Mike pressed on a bit, piercing his eyes deeper on me. "Iw down't know," I answered, trying not to blow crumbles on his perfectly ironed uniform.

Mike laughed at the sight of me which made me laugh as well. With a hand in front of my mouth I tried to swallow the toast and catch any crumbs that were about to fall down. "Here's a napkin," Mike offered before sighing again. "There isn't much more I can add to what Maxine already told you," I said hoping he would except that there wasn't going to be a nice answer or a satisfying one but I should have known that Mike wouldn't leave it at that. "When I put your name on the list of candidates I didn't do it because I _like_ you or because I've got alternative motives. I really _do_ believe you're ready to be a CO," he said emotionally. I touched his upper arm and smiled at him. "I believe you and thank you for the support but be honestly Mike. You're not sitting here without alternative motives," I said a bit teasingly. He shrugged and looked down. Probably he didn't know what to say to my accusation. "Who were those two guys yesterday?" he changed the subject slightly. I bit my lip, trying to get out of answering this particular question. "They were—Those guys were—" I really didn't know what to say and decided to take another bite of my toast. "Kate!" Mike almost yelled at me. "Who were they? Were they feds? Why were they there? Have you done something?" he asked me. I almost choked on my toast and started coughing. "Out!" I yelled at him. It was cheap of me but it was the best way to not answer the question. Besides, Mike thinking I had done something wrong to get the feds onto me was preposterous. "If you think that I did something to prevent me from getting a promotion then you're wrong," I yelled at him while I got out of bed and pushed him towards the door. "If that's what you think of me—Ah—just leave," I said before I pushed him out of my house. I closed the door and leaned against it. Mike was going to ask me about it eventually and I would have to face him again but right now I just couldn't and that hurt. I walked back to my bedroom and saw the remains of my breakfast. I wasn't hungry anymore and started to clear it away when my mobile phone beeped.

'_Meet me at the Shark tooth bar when you're back in port_.' It read. It had started.


	3. III Mike

**Mike**

I couldn't sleep, hadn't slept well for the past few days. Ever since we got back on the Hammersley and were patrolling Australia's borders I couldn't sleep, couldn't do anything right and just felt miserable. I wanted to talk to Kate but didn't know what to say to her. Even a simple 'I'm sorry' didn't come out right. She on the other hand was thriving in her work. The everlasting wonderful Kate McGregor was proving to everyone she was the best XO the RAN had. Now why couldn't the Brass see that, why couldn't they come on a patrol with us to see it first hand?

Kate was probably sleeping safe and sound right now not even worrying about her career. She didn't seem to mind it all that much that she had to come on this patrol as an XO and not as the CO as she should have been. If she did care she wasn't showing it at all. I just didn't want to believe it that Kate didn't care and that left only one option open. She was crawling back into her own shell and was dealing with her feelings on her own, much like she had done a few years ago. I was her boss, her could-be lover and, even though she would never admit it, she needed my help.

I swung my legs over the side of my rack and walked to the galley to make myself some midnight tea. Every time I made myself something in the middle of the night I would meet a crewmember. There hadn't been a time it hadn't happened but tonight proved to be the exception to that rule. I even lingered on for a while, hoping someone would come in and start talking to me but after a few minutes, having finished my tea already but still being alone in the galley, I decided to go back to my cabin.

Being back in my cabin brought me back to my original mind boggling problem. If Kate needed my help how could I provide her with that help without being too protective or too nosy. I knew her, if I would do either one of those things she would push me away as hard as she could. I thought for a moment. There wasn't much I could do if she wasn't talking to me. I didn't even know what the exact problem was but then, suddenly, I got an idea. She had told me she didn't know what the Brass wanted but it would be in her file and as her boss I could read it. If I knew what they wanted to see I could provide her with opportunities. Why hadn't I thought of this a few days earlier since it seemed such a logical solution.

As soon as I could I opened Kate's file and was greeted with her photo and credentials. There wasn't anything in those that I didn't know already. She was a well qualified person and right for any job in the navy. I scrolled down to see if there were any recommendations or specifications written down for her. To my surprise there was nothing! Not even a mention or a reason for her knock back. If it was possible there would be little clouds of steam coming from my ears by now. That's how I felt. How could I help Kate if there wasn't anything she had to perfect? How could I help her if nobody would or could talk to me and give me something to work with? Out of anger I kicked the wall and gave the screen of my laptop another irritated look and then I saw something I hadn't seen a minute ago. There was a link to a folder with the name 'Kate McGregor'. This totally didn't make any sense to me. Why would there be a folder within her own file with her own name? I clicked on it and looked hopefully at the screen. A red box appeared in the middle of my screen which asked me to give a password.

I had never seen anything like this and leaned backwards to think. I could try to type passwords and hoping it would be the right one but I could sit here all night and not get the right word. What I wanted to know was what this folder was about. What kind of information was in it that it needed to be protected with a password? Why wasn't I informed of it or what kind of information, about a member of my crew, was I not allowed to know? I guessed that if I would ever read its contents I would get an answer to all the questions so there was only one thing to do and that was to figure out a way to get into the folder.

I tried her name, my name, the boats name, her date of birth, her mother's name, her father's name, her passport number, her eye colour, but whatever I typed I got the same message: 'Access denied'. Out of pure frustration I closed my laptop and kicked the wall another time and got into my rack while rubbing my hurting foot. Sleep was one of the things I wouldn't be able to do for the rest of this patrol. Not if I didn't get some answers soon. I closed my eyes and thought back of the days when things were still normal. I wanted to go back to that moment but I didn't know how to and asking myself how was yet another unanswered question. I needed a new strategy and it would be answering one question at the time starting with 'why'.


	4. IV Maxine

**Maxine **

A week had passed since lieutenant Kate McGregor was in my office and ever since I got this nagging question in the back of my head if I had done the right thing. Kate was totally surprised when her promotion hadn't come through but she understood the reasons why. She asked me to keep it quiet and not tell anyone, not even her CO. I still agree with that decision, it is best if Mike Flynn doesn't know about the real reason. We had never expected him to show up at Navcom so early and had to improvise a bit. Kate ran off and Mike stayed behind to talk to me. He made it pretty clear he wasn't going to give up without a fight. When he said it, it never entered my mind what he actually meant by it but now I wasn't so sure anymore. For a while I had been watching Kate and Mike, and at the moment I am thinking that his actions reflect his feelings.

A couple of months ago Mike had been very reluctant to get his own promotion and when the opportunity rose for him to go back to the Hammersley he gladly accepted it. Work took over and there didn't seem any time to find a replacement CO. The initial few weeks turned into months and in the end I had to force Mike to make a move, to give up his captain's seat. He had given me only one name which seemed very logical. Kate McGregor was a very capable and resourceful officer. I put her name through to the Brass in Canberra. When I had to tell Mike he had to stay on just a little longer I thought he would be glad but he was raging mad. Were there alternative reasons why he suddenly wanted off the ship? I knew Kate and Mike worked well together and therefore must trust each other through and through. Being on a ship for weeks on end would also create long lasting friendships but was there more than a friendship between Mike and Kate and was that one of the reasons why he wanted off the ship?

I just couldn't get my head around it because Kate had never given me the impression. She hadn't complained about Mike's prolonged stay and it wouldn't make sense for her to ask me to keep quiet about the real reason if they were more than friends. If there was anything like a relationship between them she had to tell him sooner or later. With him in this angry state, I would choose to tell him as soon as possible but it was all up to her.

So, I had my doubts about my own decisions, well maybe not my decisions but more about what happened after we took them but there was no way back. We all made promises which we couldn't break and Mike and Kate were on patrol right now and they couldn't be bothered with my worries. It wouldn't be fair on them anyway since there was nothing to do about it. Besides I had no proof of any rule being broken by them. I just had to make do but I was going to keep an eye on my two officers for the next couple of months.

I looked at the clock and realised I had been deep in thoughts for the past ten minutes and I still needed to do most of my paperwork for the day. I opened a file in front of me when my phone rang. It always does when I really don't have any time but I couldn't ignore it so I answered it. "Ah, commander Marshall," I greeted the man on the other side of the line. "Yes, we've got a lot of drug smugglers at the moment but we're working closely with the feds," I answered his question. I wondered why he was so concerned about it. We always dealt with drug smugglers and didn't have a different procedure on how to handle it. Steve knew this. "Any details? We busted two major dealers just a while ago. You probably read about it," I said. If Steve had nothing else to do than ask questions on incidents well documented that was fine, let him call someone else. I had a lot of work to do and didn't have time to spend on phone calls like this. "It looks like they've regrouped and are striking back harder than ever. The HMAS Kingston has caught several drug boats and many men working on the boats were taken into custody. We brought them in, handed them over to the feds and now it's up to them to pick it up," I added a little bit annoyed.

I fidgeted with my pen in one hand and found myself drawing little pictures of boats while Steve Marshall went on. Talking about drug boats and dealers hadn't been the only reason why he had called. "What is it you want to talk about?" I asked, hoping it would be a lot more interesting than the previous subject. When Steve Marshall mentioned Mike Flynn he had my full attention again. "I can manage a little longer on my own here at Navcom," I answered trying to stop his questions on why Mike wasn't back at Navcom yet and if I needed a replacement for him. "Mike will be back as soon as we've settled some business around—" I answered but this time he interrupted me.

I hated that. I hated it when smart men found the link between two problems and thought it was as simple by solving one problem to solve the second one. "You've read my report about lieutenant McGregor?" I asked him knowing he, of course, had done so. I wondered how long it would take for Steve to opt the promotion of Kate to solve the problem of Mike's return to Navcom but he didn't mention it at all. He just talked about not understanding the knock back and that he had talked to several high positioned people in Canberra who also didn't understand.

I was glad he couldn't see me sitting uncomfortably in my chair. "I'll look into it Steve," I promised him. "I can assure you I'm working on it. I'll let you know when there are new developments, alright?" I asked. Steve agreed although it wasn't wholeheartedly. We hung up the phone and I exhaled loudly. If Steve wondered what was going on here there would be more people doing the same. The more people who would ask about it the more I had to come up with answers. I was scared there would come a moment when I couldn't give any answers and either had to blow away my cover or start lying.


	5. V Kate

**Kate**

I love my work, I really do, but the amount of paperwork should be minimized to an hour's work. I wondered if I would actually like being a CO. The amount of paperwork would be even more and the chance to get off the ship and join exciting boardings almost nil. I could already smell port and was getting more and more excited with every nautical mile we came closer. The thing was that I wouldn't be able to enjoy my upcoming shore leave if I wasn't finish with all the dreadful paperwork.

I had crashed down in the senior sailor's mess since there was more room for me to spread out all the paperwork. In front of me were two stacks of papers, a smaller one with finished products and a larger one that still needed to be completed. I sighed while I signed one of the reports in front of me and put it down on a pile of finished ones before taking the next report. At this rate I would never be finished in time and I had lots of plans for my shore leave.

I wanted to get my hair done, buy some new clothes and maybe some shoes, mainly just delve myself in some luxury. I stared at the wall in front of me trying to picture me standing in front of the next shop window. For a brief moment I could even smell the aromas coming from new products. I slapped myself out of it. I needed to focus on these dreadful papers in front of me instead of spending time day dreaming. Getting back to reality I suddenly remembered that on returning home I had to contact the guy I was going to meet in the Shark Tooth Bar. Being at sea and working hard I had almost forgotten about that. I was a bit nervous if I could live up to everyone's expectations and do the right thing. They believed in me and I knew I was capable of the job they had asked me to do but it was something totally different from the everyday navy work and that scared me just a little bit.

I read the next report before signing it and putting it with the other finished ones when the door opened and Mike walked in with a stack of reports under his arm. "Oh, X, you mind if I join you?" he asked. "Be my guest," I offered him while I pulled my stuff in closer to make some room for him. Actually I did mind. Not that I didn't mind being around Mike. His presence always made me smile and warm and tingly but that was the whole problem. I couldn't handle another distraction!

While he sat down and put his papers on the table he touched my hand very quickly. It made him look up and smile at me. "I'm sorry," he apologised. I shrugged. Since when did we apologise for touching each other? "Are you working on the paperwork of this morning's boarding?" he asked. I pulled my hand back and sighed. He did it again! As soon as we got even slightly physical he would back away by diving into his work. I wished he wouldn't make such a big deal out of touching me. No, let me rephrase that. I wished he would make a move, show me he cared about _us_.

"I'm sorry Kate," he barely whispered. "And I should apologise for the other day as well," he added a little bit louder. I looked up at him, surprised he called me by my name or for the fact he actually noted my annoyance, but which day did he mean? We had been on patrol for almost two weeks and to my knowledge he didn't have to apologise for anything. "When I came around to your place," he explained. I looked at him and shook my head in astonishment. "You don't have to," I said but he bent forwards a bit to get closer to me. "No please, let me," he pleaded.

I leaned backwards against the wall and gave him another annoyed look. "I really don't want to talk about it," I said. This conversation had suddenly made a move into a direction I hadn't expected. It was also going somewhere I didn't want to go. "But Kate," he protested. "I get the feeling I'm the only one fighting for our relationship," he said. My eyes widened as far as they could and my jaw fell down in my lap. "Excuse me?" I uttered. This conversation was getting more worse by the minute! How in the world could he think that and wasn't he apologising? He had a strange way of doing so. "Yes," he stated. "You're working, splendidly I must add, but you haven't even asked me if there's anything you need to perfect before you can become a CO or a lieutenant commander. Now I wonder why?" he dared me.

I closed my eyes and hoped I had the strength not to snap a reply I would regret later on. Before I opened my eyes and looked at the man sitting across the room from me I exhaled and thought _if_ and _how_ I wanted to react. He was mixing up different things. One minute he was talking about apologising and I can only assume that it was for his remark on thinking I had done something myself to not get the promotion, but instead of mentioning that he linked my career to my love life. "Our relationship," I said, almost emphasising every syllable, "Is non-existent."

Mike wanted to say something but I shook my head and said loudly: "How dare you blaming me for not fighting. I've been fighting for a long time and may I remind you it was _you_ who didn't do much to get back together. For a change you've got to wait for _me_ and suddenly you blame me for not fighting anymore?" I put my papers together, stood up and wanted to leave but Mike grabbed my hand and stopped me. "Wait," he said regretfully.

I sat down again, willing to give Mike a chance to explain. I could understand his frustration on the situation but that wasn't all my fault and I surely didn't want to take all the blame for the length of our wait. Mike wanted to say something but he was struggling to get the right words out of his mouth. "I love you. I want to be together with you." He suddenly stopped and looked at the door. I held my breath while we heard footsteps in the hallway. Mike waited until they had passed before he continued: "We can only be together when we're not at the same ship." I gave him a foul look. Of course I knew that. "It's true that we've been waiting for way too long and you're right that it's mainly my fault," he admitted. "I thought we finally could be together. That's why it's so frustrating when I can't find a reason for the delay," he explained.

I had calmed down a bit now he wasn't blaming me for everything anymore. "I've been searching in your file to find _anything_ that might be helpful but there's nothing," he said, shattered. I put down the papers I was still holding and tried to make eye contact with him. "There are more options if we really want a relationship and if we can't wait any longer," I said. He gave me a confused look. "Oh Mike, you've been stalling our relationship for months. You let me wait and did nothing to get back together. Now the roles are reversed with the exception that I can't do much more than wait but you could ask Maxine to be replaced by a temporary CO if you really can't wait," I explained.

Mike took my hand and stroked it. "We need to talk, don't we?" he stated. I nodded. "But not here," I added. "Give me a call when we're back in port. I'm sure we can work things out," I said. "When we talk. Will you give me some answers?" he wondered. I shrugged. "I'll try, just as much as you're going to try and answer my questions," I answered. "Let's finish the paperwork first and give me that call when we're back in port," I said while I reinstated my two piles and opened a report that needed to be signed.

After we had done all paperwork and delivered it to Navcom I went home. We had a week of shore leave which would start with a meeting at the Shark Tooth Bar. I dressed as casual as I could and went to the place, a grubby little pub near the marina. I re-read the text message I had received two weeks ago. The guy's name who had sent it was Andrew. Tonight would be the first time I would meet him in real life. Suddenly I hoped he would know who I was or I would have to spend a lot longer in this bar than I had planned. Inside was a mixture of strange characters who didn't give me a great feeling of security. One man stood out in this crowd. He looked nice and winked at me when I walked in. I hoped he was the guy I was suppose to meet. "Andrew?" I asked him a bit insecure. "You must be Kate," he smiled.

He guided me to a table in a dark corner of the bar. "I'm sorry I picked this premises but it's the only one I know for sure which is not frequented by the wrong people," he apologised. I looked around and chuckled. "No one I know wants to even be _seen_ in this place," I said. "Do they suspect anything about this at your work?" he asked me which I answered with shaking my head. There was a bit of a silence before Andrew got an envelope out of his pocket but he kept it to himself for now. "Good. It's best if you keep it that way. I know that you haven't been informed about what we want you to do exactly so I'll try and explain it a little bit," he said. I looked at him thankfully although I wondered if he could see it. It was pretty dark in this place.

"I've told my contacts a little bit about you. They know you've got a boat," he said. It made me laugh. The Hammersley certainly wasn't mine and I didn't know of any other boats I owned. "I do?" I giggled. Andrew gave me a serious look. "Listen. The police is keeping tabs on these guys. They can't buy boats themselves. All they want is a boat to go out fishing once in a while. You weren't picked just because you look pretty. You've got skills we need. You can navigate and sail to and from the places so of course you've got a boat," he spit at me not sounding so nice anymore. "They expect a call from you to discuss the deal so don't wait too long," he continued.

I hadn't expected his tone. Of course I knew it was serious what we were doing. I wasn't stupid. "So, I've got a boat and I've got to make contact with some people but who are they? What do they want from me?" I wanted to know. Andrew sighed and shook his head. "I thought that was obvious. You're brought into this business to deal with anything that happens out at sea," he grunted. I didn't like this conversation or where it was going. I basically knew nothing and all of a sudden was bombarded with half answers which made no sense at all. "We arranged a yacht for you. Look at the details and contact those guys as soon as possible. They're waiting for you," he advised me. "In this you'll find the keys," he said while he handed me the envelope he had been holding for a while. "I suggest you take a look at the yacht first thing tomorrow morning. In the envelope there are more details about who to contact and there's some money to buy, for example, a prepaid phone," he explained.

I could only nod and feel like a little school girl the way he was raging on. I hadn't suspected anything like this and he must have seen my awkwardness. "I'm sorry I'm a bit short. There's no time to joke about it," he explained. I nodded again. "When do I contact you again?" I asked him a lot more seriously. The last thing I wanted was to leave the impression I wasn't serious. "You don't. When you're out on _your_ boat," and he laughed this time when he said it, "you're on your own. We're only supposed to be distant friends so don't call me unless it's really necessary," he warned me. "Read what's in the information. When you're back in port and have some news come back to this place," he added.

Before I could say anything else Andrew got up and left me. He wished me good luck and had disappeared before I could even reply. With all my new stuff I walked out of the grubby bar as well. As advised I bought a mobile phone and a prepaid card at a night store. While I drove myself home I tried to get everything clear in my head. I was given lots of information and at the same time I hardly knew anything. At home I made myself some tea and with a large cup I took a look at the contents of the envelope. The guy I needed to contact was called Doug. He would offer me money for the use of my boat and my expertise. I didn't know anything about this guy but it was up to me to get things started. I noticed how my hands were shaking while I sent off my message:

_For the right prize I'll do it. Call me for more details. Kate._


	6. VI Doug

**Doug**

The harbour master had shown us where the yacht would be. I was walking pretty fast and Al followed me, carrying two bags, some fishing rods and other gear we needed on our little trip. If he was stupid enough to carry my stuff besides his own I sure wasn't going to stop him. The yachts at this part of the marina were looking very expensive, and I hoped that Kate would be just as great as the boat. Andrew didn't want to tell much about her looks when he raised the idea of asking her. We 'had to see for ourselves' which could mean anything. She could be the ugliest woman on the planet or drop dead gorgeous. I liked her voice when we briefly spoke on the phone to arrange this fishing trip and it was then that I had decided that her sailing skills were the most important so I tried not to care about her looks.

"What's the name of the boat again?" Al asked while he tried not to stumble. "_The Golden Sunshine_ you idiot. You've asked me that about twenty times now. Just keep on walking. That guy back there said it was all the way at the end," I retorted while quickly looking back at the harbour master's office. "When you feel the water coming into your shoes you know you've gone too far," I sniggered. Al mumbled something but kept on walking like I told him. When we had reached the end of the marina we were greeted by a gorgeous blonde who waved and told us to come onto her boat.

"You can put your gear down below," she said in a friendly tone. "If everything is to your liking we can sit down and discuss the little details," she added while Al walked down the stairs, followed by me, to a nice looking room. _To our liking? Geez, this boat was better than my own home!_ I walked back up the stairs towards Kate who was boiling some water. "You're not thinking of drinking coffee or tea while finalising our deal," I said. "Do you have anything else?" I grinned. "Ah, so you like my boat?" she asked playing all innocent. "Not just your boat," I mocked. This was going to be a great trip. It just had to be. While we drank some bubbly I signed a contract made up by Kate and she took the four thousand dollars I had agreed to pay for her services.

That night we were sailing the Coral Sea, well actually Kate was sailing and Al and I were taking advantage of all the luxury of the boat. We were about to play a game of poker when Kate came into the lounge. "Is there anything I can do for you guys?" she asked. Al quietly laughed and hit me against my shin. "No not really," I replied before Al would show his hunger for woman's flesh. "You're sure?" she asked reassuringly. "Well, yeah, we're fine but if you would like to drink something with us that would be great," I answered.

Kate sat down and gave Al a questioning look. "Can I join the game?" she asked. I guess it surprised us both but Al really was in a loss for words. "Yeah, you, uhm, do uhh you know ahh," he stuttered. "What are you playing?" Kate asked not even reacting on his stutters. "Poker," was Al's short answer. Kate looked down in disappointment before she kind off veered back up again. "Don't know how to play," she answered. "But you could teach me," she smiled. Al started to smile as well and explained the rules although I wondered how much Kate would really understand from his explanation.

Strangely enough Kate turned out to be a wonderful student and we spent the night by playing multiple games of poker. Kate had opened a bottle of wine to drink while we stuck to beer. Everything loosened up a bit. It was time for some small talk and hopefully some more. "Tell me Kate. Do you do this often? I mean, rent out your boat to strangers?" I asked. She smiled and tilted her head. "Only if the prize is right," she answered me cryptically. She was going to play it hard it seemed. "Keeping your cards close to your chest was only a rule for the poker game," I joked. Kate laughed and shook her head. "Well then. Let's play poker."

For a minute I thought she meant playing another game but she threw money on the table and we had no other option than to do the same. Within a short time we were parted from our money and hadn't much left of it. Al got a little sachet out of the pocket of his shirt and threw it on the table. "Wanna play?" he dared Kate. She looked at it and smiled. "I wondered how long it would take for you to get your coke out. Are you sure you want to play with that? You can lose it," she teased. At the end of the game she gratefully took the coke and walked to the kitchenette where she emptied the sachet on something, divided the coke, bent forward and sniffed up what I supposedly thought to be a line. With the remaining coke she came back and offered us a line as well. "I'm a nice person and share," she said. "Have another line," I tried but she declined. "I'm the driver, remember," she said and with that she sat back and relaxed.

The next morning I woke up to the smell of fresh made coffee. Kate stood in the kitchenette, already fully dressed. Well, actually she wore a bikini and a skirt. Not a sight I could disagree with. She looked gorgeous! "I put your fishing stuff out on the deck so after breakfast you can get started," she said. I wondered if she was leading me on. Besides being gorgeous she was a smart woman. By now she should be able to put two and two together and know we weren't here for just fishing but I left it for now. "Thank you Kate," I said instead. This woman was mesmerising and all I knew was that I needed another opportunity to come back to her after this trip was over. "Yesterday evening you seemed to like the powder," I started. "If I could get you more of it would you take me along a second time?" I asked her. I got a big smile in return. "You bet," she stated. "I guess you know where that stuff grows. We could be best buddies," she said while she pat my shoulder.

On our return to Cairns I knew Kate was a winner. She even caught us some fish and let us drool over her perfect body while she was sunbathing but most importantly she had brought us home safely. It was time to say goodbye although I really didn't want to. With my last bag filled and ready to go I turned to her. "For the right prize," I mockingly started. "Could we hire you again? Say, next week?" I asked. She shrugged. "I need to check with my boss but I'll let you know as soon as I know something," she answered. "You wouldn't mind if I take along some friends?" I wondered. Again Kate shrugged. "For the right prize remember," she answered cheekily.

God, I was about to fall for this woman and hoped she would call me with some good news. With my own bag over my shoulder this time I left the yacht and waved one more time to Kate. "Thanks for a great weekend. Hope to see you soon," I yelled. She nodded and moved back into her boat.

I got out my mobile phone and dialled the number of a good friend. "Yeah mate, she's awesome! Everything what Andrew said and more. If we play it right we've got ourselves a new runner. But hey! She's mine!"


	7. VII Mike

**Mike**

"_Hi, you called Kate McGregor. Leave a message. Thanks."_ I hung up the phone without leaving a message this time. If Kate would finally have the time to get a look at her phone she would already find a few left messages, some text messages and nine, no ten unanswered calls by me. I didn't understand it though. Why was she ignoring me? If she really didn't want to talk to me she would say so, at least the Kate McGregor I knew would. Since she hadn't got her promotion she acted strangely. One minute she said it didn't affect her, that she could simply wait for the day that she would get it and the next minute she doesn't want to talk about it and is trying to hide her true feelings.

For a few days now I had tried to make contact with Kate. She had asked me to call her during our shore leave but I didn't want to sound desperate and had waited until after the weekend. She hadn't told me about any of her plans so I didn't know if she was away or not but the fact she didn't react to any of my phone calls worried me. Why ask me to call you and then don't pick up the phone when I do?

With a sudden anger flaring up I put down the book I had been trying to read, grabbed my keys and mobile and walked out of the house. Kate owed me an explanation which I only seemed to get if I would confront her in person. It only took me a couple of minutes to drive to her little apartment where I started to express my anger on her door bell. Kate didn't open which made me even more angry at first. She was not just ignoring my phone calls, she was just ignoring me full stop! What had I done to her to deserve this? If she would open the door or answer my calls I'd ask her!

I needed to calm down before I would do something stupid so I sighed loudly before I turned away from her door when I saw her car parked in front of her house. All my good intentions to calm down left me in one go. With renewed energy I knocked on her door. "Just open the door and talk to me," I pleaded but nothing happened. I didn't even hear her move inside. I called her home number and heard the phone, not much later followed by her answering machine, so I called her mobile number one more time.

Surprised I looked at the door of her apartment when I heard her mobile going off inside. Instead of being angry I started to get worried that something had happened to her. Technically it was possible she had gone to the shops on foot and had forgotten her phone but it didn't seem like Kate. What if she was inside and something had happened to her? She could be on the floor, unable to get to the phone. _Stop thinking in worst case scenarios Mike_ I told myself.

This wasn't working. I wanted to believe that Kate just didn't happen to be at home right now so knocking on her door wasn't working. For some reason she didn't want to pick up the phone so Ishould just drop my need to talk to her. Feeling disappointed I walked back to my car and got in. I drove off into the direction of the shops where Kate could be. The sensible side of my brain was really telling me to let it rest but the other part was screaming that something wasn't right. _What if?_ I needed to know for sure that nothing bad had happened to Kate.

With a u-turn I went back to her apartment, knocked on her front door, rang the door bell, called her phones, but nothing got a reaction whatsoever. A neighbour walked passed and looked at me in confusion. "If you're waiting for Ms. McGregor you're wasting your time. I haven't seen her in a couple of days," the woman said. She got into her own apartment leaving me even more worried. Kate's car was in front of her house so she hadn't gone somewhere far. Either she wasn't inside her apartment or at the very least she wasn't able to pick up her phone. Then there was her mobile which seemed to be in that same apartment where Kate didn't seem to be. There was always the possibility she had gone out and forgot to bring her phone but with the statement of her neighbour that seemed out of the question. To me there was only one conclusion. Something had happened inside the apartment.

With great force I rammed the door until it opened. Quickly I walked inside and ran towards her living room. "Kate," I yelled. "Kate, where are you?" I had reached her kitchen. She wasn't here and it didn't appear she had been cooking much lately. I ran towards her bedroom and stormed in. Everything was in perfect order and also in the bathroom there was no clue to where Kate could be. She had just disappeared from the earth.

Disappointedly I walked back towards her living room and sank down on one of her chairs. "Where are you?" I whispered. I looked down at a stack of paperwork and was drawn to a logo on one of the envelopes. It had the logo of the federal police on it. Before I could take a look I heard movement at the door. Quickly I stood up, hoping it would be Kate. "Show your hands so we can see them," someone ordered. In front of me were two police officers, both armed and keeping me under gun point. "I'm not armed," I said in defence, showing them my hands. They put down their guns and walked towards me. "You are under arrest for breaking and entering unlawfully," one of them said. "Please, it's all a mistake. Let me explain," I begged. "You can do that down at the station," the other officer said. "Please put your hands on your back and make a fist," the first one ordered while cuffing my wrists tightly together.

I was taken to the police station and brought into the interview room. I was given the opportunity to explain who I was, what I was doing and why I had been in Kate's house. They acknowledged that it sounded feasible but they needed Kate's confirmation but there was only one small problem. Even the police couldn't find her. After a two hour interview I was brought to one of the cells where I had to wait until Kate returned.


	8. VIII Andrew

**Andrew**

I knocked on her door. We had decided to meet in the Shark Tooth Bar but this was an emergency! She had broken the rules. At least, it looked that way and if it was true we were back at square one. In that case we needed someone else to get in. Irritated I knocked on her door again until it opened.

In front of me stood Kate, still drowsy from the early hour I had decided to come knocking on her door. "Andrew?" she asked wiping her eyes as if she needed to check again if it was really me. I pushed her aside and with a few steps I walked inside. "Tell me you didn't do it," I said, dragging Kate along away from the front door. "Huh?" she reacted while she tried to push me away. "What did I do?" she asked me angrily while she rubbed her arm. A red spot started to appear where I had grabbed her. "I'm sorry," I said, pointing at her arm.

Kate gave me a questioning look although I wondered what she wanted to know. Maybe she didn't believe me when I said sorry. "What did I do?" she asked. Before I could answer she went on: "What was I supposed to do? I did what you asked me to," she tried to explain herself. "I took Doug and Al out on the boat. Everything went well," she continued. "Well? Doug called me and he's ecstatic!" I added. "Just tell me you didn't do it," I said again. "What! What did I do?" Kate exclaimed. "Andrew, it's six am and if you don't tell me—" I sighed and shook my head. "Doug told me you won coke in a game of poker. He said you used," I told her what I had heard. Kate started to laugh, relieved, and walked to her kitchen. "No, I didn't. But hey, it worked. They believed it," she said while opening a kitchen cabinet and got some coffee out. "You want a brew?" she asked me.

I sank down on one of her kitchen chairs. Kate didn't get the seriousness of what she had done. "Do you?" she asked again looking at the coffee. "No," I snapped, "and you shouldn't either." Kate left the coffee on the counter and walked towards me. "I really didn't use drugs. I emptied that sachet on a saucer, divided it and pretended to use a line," she said trying to convince me. "It's not me you need to convince. It doesn't matter if I believe you. What do you think your boss is going to do when I would give her this kind of information?" I asked. Kate gave me an alarmed look. "You're not going t—" she said. I shook my head. "No, I won't. For now," I answered. "You need to come along to the hospital though for drug tests," I laid out to her. She sighed for a moment and put her hand through her hair. "Will you still be able to tell after a few days? A couple of days have passed since I _used_," she mocked. "Yes. Just get dressed," was all I said. "We'll talk later," I added.

While Kate was showering and getting dressed I looked around her apartment. As soon as she was ready to go I wanted to move. Women are supposed to be very organised creatures so where would she logically keep her keys or her handbag? I didn't want to snoop around although that was exactly what I was doing. Kate was an organised person and it didn't take me long to find her handbag in which I found her wallet. The keys to her apartment were not far away from her bag, placed on a dresser. A few pictures were on it and all involved navy situations. One must be of her graduation, one of her with a crew in front of a huge navy ship and one of a crew in front of a smaller navy ship. _The navy must be very important to her_ was all I could think.

I had to make myself stop looking at pictures and find her mobile so we could leave straight away. I lifted a few stacks of papers on her table and finally found it in her fruit bowl on the counter in the kitchen. _There goes my theory that women put their possessions at logical places_ I thought. I put it in her handbag and looked around to see what else she would want to bring along. The apartment looked very nice but it was also apparent that the occupant was away for long periods of time. Some newspapers and magazines which were laying around were a little bit old and outdated.

The sounds of a running shower had stopped, it wouldn't be much longer before we could leave. I really needed those results of her drug tests. I wanted to believe her when she said she hadn't used but Doug wasn't a guy who was easily fooled. Kate was either really good or was lying to my face and I didn't know which one of those two options worried me most. If Kate had fooled Doug once could she do it again? If he really thought she had used drugs he could ask her to use again. What would she do then? But what if Kate _had_ used? Would she be that stupid? Would she think we wouldn't find out?

I was still contemplating the options when Kate showed up dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. "Let's go and get those tests over and done with," she said. I stood up and handed her handbag to her. "I put everything in there, keys, phone, passport," I told her. Before she could say anything I dragged her along to my car. She got in and while we drove off she looked at me. "I thought we weren't supposed to be seen together. That we would meet at the bar," she said. "I know," I retorted. "That was until you decided to use – or not," I quickly added. I guess I had said something wrong because Kate didn't say anything back. Instead she got her handbag and looked through it. "You said you put my phone in it," she said looking alarmed. "I did," I answered, quickly looking at her bag before I looked at the road again. "Well, it's not," she said. "Oh god, you took the wrong phone," she said showing me the grey device I had put in there. "This is my prepaid phone which I keep in touch with Doug. I need my other phone for my work. It might be unlikely but I could be crash sailed or something. You have to go back," she demanded.

I looked at my watch and shook my head. "No, can't do," I replied. Kate turned her body towards me and gave me an authorial look. I could see she was in command at her work and she was probably used to getting things her way but I wasn't going to comply with her wishes today. "Hey," she almost screamed when we passed a crossing. "To go to the hospital you should have turned right here," she said. "I know," I simply replied. "But we're not going to the hospital in Cairns."

Kate looked more worried now. "Where are you taking me? How dare you to show up early in the morning and drag me along. I do have rights you know," she stated. I looked at the road ahead and turned into the highway leading out of Cairns. When we had travelled a few kilometres and when Kate had calmed down a bit I looked at her. "Look, I couldn't take you to the local hospital. What if Doug or one of his friends would see us together there?" I explained. "Another reason to go a hospital a fair way out is to have a little bit of a chat."

Kate grunted and looked out of the window. "You've made a mistake," I tried to say calmly. Actually I was still irritated by her _mistake_. "You shouldn't have done that joke with the drugs. Doug is raving about you and is planning to take you out on another trip. It's not a question _if_ he's going to offer you another line of coke, but more _when_. What are you going to say to him if he does?" I asked her. Kate looked at me and shrugged. "I told him that I'm the driver. I'll use that excuse again," she answered. "OK, so he offers you _one_ line of coke. What will you say to him then?" I threw at her. Again she shrugged. "I'll come up with something," she said.

I sighed, she either didn't see the graveness of the situation or she didn't care but talking about it much longer wouldn't make a difference. I had told her about the danger of it and now it was up to her to deal with it. "How far are you willing to take this?" I asked her. She gave me a questioning look before she shrugged. "You see, you were brought into this to give us information of sea locations and anything that happens out there but by the way Doug is raving about you, you could easily become more valuable," I explained. "How do I do that?" Kate asked interestedly. There she was again, the serious woman we had picked to do the job. I was glad and with a hint of a smile on my face I continued: "Doug is interested in you. You could become a close friend if you play it right. If so, you could get a lot more information just by being around him. We don't know exactly what his position in the organisation is but you could find that out."

Kate was eager to hear more. She turned her body towards me. When I gave her a quick glance over my shoulder I saw her analysing the words I had just spoken. All my doubts if she was capable of doing the job were thrown out of the car right this minute. "So he likes me. You don't mean as in girlfriend material? If you would say that about Al I would believe you. All his hungry glances and little remarks indicating he wouldn't mind sleeping with me but not Doug," she said with a disgusted look on her face. "He's a player. He won't show all his cards at once. You really need to think about it Kate," I said, using her name to emphasize the seriousness of the situation. "If _you_ play it right you could become a friend to Doug, maybe even a girlfriend, but how far are you willing to go?" I asked again. I decided to let her think about it for a while without attacking her with lots of questions.

We had reached the hospital where a nurse took Kate along for her blood tests. In the mean time I waited at the cafeteria and drank a couple of cups of coffee. By the time Kate got back to me it was almost lunch time. I felt an obligation to take her somewhere. She hadn't eaten anything all morning. While I drove her to a nice restaurant my phone rang. It was a colleague. Normally I would accept the call on the hands free set but with Kate sitting next to me I couldn't do that. I parked my car and accepted the call.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked. I listened to my colleague and was a bit shocked to hear what he was telling me. "Really? Do they already know who he is?" I asked over the phone. Kate looked like she was intruding on my privacy. She tried to look outside and not listen in but she looked at me again when I said: "No, she's with me." My colleague told me a bit more before I held my hand over the mouthpiece and turned towards Kate. "You know a Mike Flynn?" I asked her. "He's my CO," she answered. "Yes, she knows him. What do you want me to do?" I asked my colleague. I nodded when my colleague told me his plan. "We're going to have some lunch first and then we'll come in. Let him sweat for a while. That serves him right," I answered before I hung up.

I started the engine again and drove towards the restaurant. "Your CO broke into your house. He's at the police station in Cairns and you need to identify him. It looks like he was worried about you and thought something had happened." I told her, quickly looking over my shoulder. The shocked look on her face said a lot more. She didn't care about lunch anymore and wanted to go back but I saw other possibilities. "He won't go anywhere. They put him in a cell and he'll stay there until we get back but you need to eat something first," I ordered her.

Kate wasn't happy with my decision but I didn't care. "Doug wants to use your boat again this weekend, doesn't he?" I asked her. "Yeah," Kate sighed. "But I need to work so it's not going to happen," she added. I shook my head. "Your CO just gave us the most wonderful excuse for you _not_ to work. Kate, you need to move in fast with Doug or he won't be so interested in you anymore. Tell commander White you don't want to work with Mike Flynn, at least for a while. In that way you can stay in port and contact Doug that everything is arranged with your work," I raved but Kate only shook her head. "It's bad enough I'm lying to a bunch of crooks but you're asking me to lie to my friends. I can't do that?" she said. "Mike is worried about me and it's partly my own fault. I told him to call me but I was either away with Doug or unavailable. Now I need to turn my back on him as well?" I didn't say anything but walked into the restaurant. "You decided to lie when you took on this job. If they would ask you what you did on your days off you wouldn't have told them the truth, would you? It's just for a little while and if you decide to play Doug's girlfriend it could be over much quicker. Are you willing to stick to the plan or will you back off. Please tell me right now," I demanded.


	9. IX Mike

**Mike**

I still couldn't figure out what had happened to me. One minute I was a respectable navy officer and the next a small time criminal with a police record. The day before I had spend most of the day in a police cell, locked up with the rest of Cairns' criminals. I had to share a cell with a tattoo covered guy who had the ability to smell the fact I was a newbie to criminal affairs. When I was bailed at the end of the day I was glad I could leave him behind. I was thankful he wasn't bailed and couldn't follow me home since he had given me the creeps. I didn't know who bailed me or what had happened during the day. The fact that they let me go must have meant Kate was found although I didn't see her for myself. I was ordered to leave her alone and was not allowed to contact her. I didn't know how that was going to work out since we do work together.

For a minute I thought about going past Kate's house to see if she was safely at home but the better part of my brain told me not to be so stupid and just do as I was told. All of a sudden everything felt different and the worst part was that I was still worried about Kate. I wanted to know what had happened to her. Had she gone to the shops? Was she deliberately dodging my calls or had I made myself sick worrying for nothing? It was no surprise to me I had not slept at all during the night but somewhere I must have dozed off for a couple of minutes just to be ruefully woken up by Maxine calling me to come to Navcom.

I had to rush not to be late. Maxine hadn't said much on the phone, just that we had been crash sailed. I had to come in and pick up some information. With some reserve I walked the last few meters. Many questions went through my head. How was I going to work together with a person I was not supposed to contact? Would Maxine know about the conditions of my bail and if so how was she going to deal with it? Maxine saw me entering the large hall and greeted me as if she knew nothing. "Mike, come in," she said. I did as I was told and walked in, seeing there was someone else already present. "Lieutenant Wildebeast, this is commander Mike Flynn, the CO of Hammersley," Maxine introduced me. "Mike I want you to meet lieutenant Amber Wildebeast. She's going to be your XO for the next patrol," Maxine introduced the young woman in return. Both women must have seen my shocked face but Maxine just held up her hand. "Not now Mike. We'll talk later," she firmly said. Whatever followed didn't get through to me and while Maxine explained our new orders I could only wonder what had happened to Kate. why wasn't she my XO anymore? Was this arrangement for good or just temporarily?

If I didn't want to go completely crazy I needed some answers before I would go out on patrol. Maxine acknowledged that and had sent lieutenant Wildebeast off to the Hammersley while I stayed behind. Maxine turned to me and put a friendly hand on my shoulder. "You got yourself in some serious trouble Mike but there's no time to discuss it thoroughly right now. We'll do that on your return. For now, all you need to know is that Kate is safe. You did give her a fright by breaking in. When you return I'll ask her if she's ready to talk to you. Please don't do anything foolish while on patrol. Something like e-mailing her or trying to get in touch in any other way. I trust you. That's why I bailed you. Please don't break my trust," she pleaded.

Without getting anymore answers I was sent on patrol telling the rest of the crew Kate had taken up some leave and therefore was replaced by Amber Wildebeast. We were sent out to catch a stolen yacht which was spotted by coast watch. It was reported stolen the day before and the owners really needed it back soon. I was soon to find out if my new XO was as good as her record said she was. She had the hard task to fill in Kate's shoes and I didn't know if she was capable of doing that. The rest of the crew seemed to like her spirited way of handling situations. 2Dads had pulled a prank on her by hiding Oscar, the dummy, in her cabin but she had not showed him any of her true feelings. 2Dads was cleaning the toilets now, with a toothbrush, for which she gained a silent round of applause. The young woman turned out to be a harder nut to crack than most of my sailors had thought she would be but that still didn't proof to me she was capable of replacing Kate. As soon as possible I wanted my initial XO back.

We still had about two hours to prepare ourselves before we would reach the coordinates we had received from coast watch. There wasn't much for us to do until then and with a calm sea in front of us and no alarm bells ringing at the bridge I decided to go to my cabin and work on some personal matters. When I was in Kate's house I had seen an envelope with a federal police logo on it. While being in her house I had no time, nor intention, to read the contents of the letter but after being arrested and sent out on the oceans I became more curious to why Kate would have such a letter in the first place. Ever since things had gone _wrong_ the feds had been involved, for I knew for sure the two guys in Maxine's office had been feds. Since that day Kate didn't talk to me anymore. Maxine knew more but didn't say anything and instead of someone telling me I did a good thing by checking on a friend I was arrested. OK, I had, officially seen, broken into her house but not with the intention to steal, harm or do anything criminal at all.

I opened my laptop and did the same to the two documents I had worked on recently. The first wasn't one I had really worked on, it was Kate's file, and the other was a word document I had made myself. In the second one I kept track of what I had done so far to find answers. For example there was a long list of non-working passwords which I had tried. It drove me mad that, even after three weeks, I still hadn't found the right one to open the secret file about Kate. The other thing I kept track of was all my observations on Kate's behaviour or anyone who was linked to her. The thing I was going to do now wasn't something I was proud of but it felt like I was left with no other choice. I needed to know why Kate had received mail from the feds. In my opinion there were two options possible. She either had done something recently, or in her past, that had caused an interference by the feds or she was secretly working for them. I didn't want to believe the first option because it didn't sound like the Kate I knew but it couldn't be the second option. Kate would tell me at least something about any operation she was involved in. Either way the options just didn't make sense.

I stared at the screen for a while before I found myself enough courage to open my e-mail account. If there was no one giving me answers, if I asked for them, I had to ask them to others who would. Through one of my past contacts I was given a name within the police force. He could figure out if Kate had been involved in any misdoings in the past. I sighed before I started to write but as soon as I started the words flew out of me and onto the screen. It didn't take me long to compose the mail and before I could talk myself out of it I sent it off. I had just finished doing so when over the intercom I was summoned to come to the bridge.

"We've come up to the yacht, sir," Dutchy said to me when I arrived at the bridge. "X, prepare for a boarding party," I ordered. Amber and Dutchy left the bridge while I looked through my binoculars. I saw the yacht next to us bouncing on the waves. It was a beautiful boat and I could understand why anyone wanted to steal it. Maybe, one day I would own such a vessel and sail the seas with Kate. I shook my head to get back to reality before I turned my attention to RO. "Call them," I simply stated. "_Golden Sunshine_, this is HMAS Hammersley. Stop or heave to. I intent to board you," he said. We both waited for a reply which never came. "Again," I ordered. RO repeated his request which was replied by silence. "Is there any sign of life on the boat?" I asked in general. One of the on watch seaman turned to me and shook his head. "No sir but coast watch told us there were at least two people on board, a man and a woman," he told me. "Thank you seaman Smith," I said before I took the radio in hand and ordered the boarding party on their way.


	10. X Maxine

**Maxine**

I growled at the phone on my desk. For the past few hours I had tried to contact Kate but she either didn't pick up or had her mobile switched off. At least it had been for the past hour when all my calls went straight to her message bank. It wasn't that she was helping the feds that she could ignore her _real_ work. I was still her boss and she had to answer a few of my questions. For one I wanted to get her full story on what happened yesterday. I had to bail Mike out of jail for crying out loud! She must have really make him worry to do something as stupid as breaking in a house. The police had only told me Mike had wanted to contact Kate and that she never replied any of his calls. I started to understand his urge to do something criminal myself. "Kate McGregor where are you?" I muttered in annoyance.

My question following the piece of information about the break in was why Mike so desperately wanted, or needed, to talk to Kate. They were on shore leave after all. They were working together in close confinements that I would think that by the time shore leave came around they would stay away from each other. I started to suspect a deeper and more personal involvement from the two senior officers although I didn't have any proof. If it was true that they had a personal relationship then there were still some strange kinks in the story. Why for example wouldn't Kate tell Mike she was helping the feds? As her CO he didn't need to know but as a close friend, or even worse a boyfriend, he would be someone you wanted to tell something like that.

Maybe the affection was only one way but Mike surely wouldn't be that stupid to attract suspicion if there was nothing going on. Maybe Kate was better in hiding secrets and was it all a way to make me think there's nothing going on. Oh, I could keep going on thinking and guessing but that was just useless and a waste of my time. There were so many things I needed to do. Like always there were loads of papers to be signed and since Mike had informed me they had found the luxury yacht and would bring it in there would be even more of that to come. The man and a woman who were on the yacht were brought onto the Hammersley and would be transferred to the feds as soon as they arrived back in port.

One last time I tried to call Kate McGregor but as soon as I heard her voice mail I hung up. There were enough pleas from my side on her message bank for her to get the hint to call me back. It didn't need another one. I probably wouldn't be sounding so nice and polite anymore either. Before I could do anything my phone rang and with the high hope it would be a certain Lieutenant calling back I eagerly picked it up. "Commander White," I answered the phone. To my dismay it wasn't who I thought it would be but instead it was the information desk telling me I had visitors. "Who are they?" I asked. If it was someone unimportant I could still try to scare them off and let me catch up on my work. "Two inspectors," the answer was. I audibly sighed and nodded as if the person could see that. "Let them in. I'm in my office," I instructed.

Not much later inspectors Mitchell and Wilson entered my office as if they owned the place. "Commander we need to know where the boat is right now," inspector Mitchell started. I was still wondering how it was possible for them to show up in my office within thirty seconds of the phone call and I hadn't even had a chance to think about _why_ they needed to talk to me. "Which boat?" I asked. Inspector Wilson closed the door to my office and gave me an annoying look. "You know very well which boat," he replied. I stood up from my desk to kind of regain some power and stand over these guys. "We're currently having five patrol boats out, two frigates and a u-boat. I guess I can eliminate _them_ from the list of possibilities," I started my little rant to irritate them. "So the boat you're talking about could be any of the four private boats we're dealing with at the moment. Now could you please be a little bit more specific into which boat you're talking about," I finished, quickly giving them a smug smile to let them know I knew they didn't like the way I had just spoken to them.

"The _Golden Sunshine_," inspector Mitchell illuminated. "It's the boat we use in our undercover operation. We need it. We needed it this morning," he explained. The undercover operation? The one Kate was part of? I looked through my notes to find some details. Had I missed the fact that Kate had been on that boat? I couldn't have missed that! I quickly scanned through it but couldn't find Kate's name. It wouldn't make sense anyway. If she had been on the boat I would have known. Everyone on the Hammersley knows her. "So, where is it right now?" inspector Mitchell asked again. I looked at the notes I had written down earlier and shrugged. "We'll expect them in port in about four hours," I answered. That was all I knew and could tell them. Skimming through the notes another time to find some clues to why this boat was so special to the inspectors I couldn't find any answers. "The undercover operation," I started a bit insecure. "Is it the one you use my Lieutenant for?" I asked. Inspector Wilson simply nodded and crossed his arms in front of his body. He clearly wasn't going to inform me on all the details if that was what I wanted, that much was clear from his body language.

I leaned back into my chair and scratched my head before I looked at the two men again. "I can't seem to get in touch with Lieutenant McGregor. Do you know where she is?" I asked. Wilson nodded and again that was as much information I was going to get. "Oh come on guys!" I exclaimed. "I was told I would get full cooperation from you. Right now I need to know where my Lieutenant is so I can tell her to get back here. She does have a job to do you know," I threw at them. I didn't care they could hear the irritation in my voice. "She's with Andrew and as soon as that boat is back she'll go out with the drug dealers. I can't tell you how long it will be before she's back in town but _you_ assured us we could use her services as long as we needed it," inspector Wilson replied.

I didn't know what to say to them. It was true I had given them my assurance although I started to regret that decision. My superiors were getting twitchy about what was going on and I didn't know how much longer I could keep feeding them half truths and little lies. Looking at the two inspectors I knew that they wouldn't tell me everything they knew and the fact that they had shared the information about the whereabouts of Kate was about as much as I was going to get. That's why I was surprised to hear inspector Mitchell. "To make the trip safer for your Lieutenant we really need to know where the boat is right now. Those two nitwits you picked up deliberately took out this boat to find out if there were any bugs on it. I'll bet you a thousand bucks they're linked to the drug organisation we're moderating. You're Lieutenant is doing a great job so far and we want to make sure she'll do it a little longer. We want to plant some security stuff on the boat and preferably before it is back in port so no one get suspicious here. Those nitwits will tell their boss it's safe to take out the boat. The boss will give the OK to his guys who then will call your Lieutenant to arrange a date. So, do you understand why we want to plant those security bugs as soon as possible? It's in the best interest of your Lieutenant."

My mind was racing. I couldn't tell if it was true what they had just told me but it sounded logical. "I'll have to call the Hammersley to get the coordinates," I said before I picked up the phone to make the call. Not much later I got the information we needed and inspector Wilson left my office with it to arrange his people to get on their way. Inspector Mitchell stayed behind and looked at me intently. "Your Lieutenant is a great success and is helping us enormously," he started nicely. I just knew he was going to ask me for a favour but I didn't know what it would be. "You see, one of those guys likes her and right now we're briefing Lieutenant McGregor so she'll know what to do to get even more information. It means we need her services a little longer than we expected," he started.

I shook my head. "No way," I said firmly. "You'll have until next week. I can't authorise for her to be absent without telling my superiors what's going on. You can have her until then," I told him. His face dropped into a deadly glare but I didn't care. "You don't seem to get the seriousness of the situation," he threw at me. I nodded. "I think I do. I do understand you want this organisation out of the way as soon as possible but it's not Lieutenant McGregor's job to do that. She's helping you out with the maritime side of the operation but she is first and foremost a naval Lieutenant who needs to do her job. She'll be on a patrol starting next week," I told the man.

Suddenly he rose and threateningly leaned against my desk. "We'll see about that," he said. "You won't tell anyone because you know the consequences of that action will be horrendous," he continued while he turned around to leave my office. "It's in _everyone's_ interest she finishes this job. You won't compromise _that_. She'll come back when she's ready." And with that he left my office. "Next week," I shouted. "Make sure she's back by then!"


	11. XI Kate

**Kate**

I woke up with a terrible headache and couldn't remember what I had done to get it. Maybe I should just blame it on a combination of a lot of things. I was feeling miserable and hadn't slept well on the uncomfortable benches of this boat. I opened my eyes but shut them again when the bright light of the sun shone into them. I didn't want to wake up yet and there wasn't any sound to be heard so maybe the guys wouldn't mind if I stayed in my 'bed' a few minutes longer.

One of the reasons for my bad feeling was that I had never thought it was so hard to keep up a lie this long. When I was asked to help out to catch some criminals I thought it was as simple as that. I would do my part and then the police would come in and do the arrests. I actually never thought it would take more effort than that or that I'd have to lie to my friends and colleagues. Well, actually I did know that part but I thought it would be for a day, a week or just a short time and now it started to turn ugly and I didn't know what to do anymore.

Mike was really worried about me and because of his care he got himself arrested. For a minute I was angry for what he had done but then I just wanted to talk to him, ask him what he was thinking! Too bad, Andrew told me _not_ to talk to him and I stupidly agreed. I had to keep up the pretence of being really hurt and that I didn't trust him anymore. Now, that was where I thought it had gone ugly. Whatever happened I knew I could work things out with Mike and by not talking to him now would make it harder for both of us to bring up the whole thing later on.

To make things worse Andrew had taken me to a hotel and kept me there for a night. We had to _talk things through_ on what our next strategy would be. It sounded like he was giving me a choice but whatever I said it always turned out in favour of Andrew's idea. I had to take out Doug and his friends on my boat and make Doug believe I would be interested in his seduces. For a minute I thought about calling everything off but then a little voice in the back of my head told me not to give up without really trying. A bit reluctantly I had agreed to go back to the boat and call Doug for a meeting just to find out the boat was stolen. Strangely enough it turned out to be the Hammersley to come to our rescue and bring _the Golden Sunshine_ back to port. Strange since I had not gotten a call from Navcom about being crash sailed. After my night in a hotel I did go home and I had picked up my own phone so it couldn't have been as simple as me missing a call. Were they replacing me? Who had informed Navcom of the fact I wasn't available? It must have been Andrew but it felt like being stabbed in the back. I knew it was all a game about trust but I started to wonder who I could trust.

And there I was. On my boat, which was safely returned with the honour of the Royal Australian Navy. As soon as it was back I had called Doug to make some arrangements about which he, of course, was very happy. Andrew had warned me about Doug and about the games he could play but he didn't have to remind me. I wanted to get out of this deal as soon as possible and would play along with Doug as much as I could, without of course doing something I didn't want to do myself or without compromising the situation.

The day before I had sailed out with Doug, Al and Frank. The latter I had never met before but he turned out to be a guy similar to Doug. It even seemed that Doug looked up to this Frank guy so I made a mental note to ask Andrew about Frank the next time I would speak to him. Since I did have previous contacts with Doug he let the way in conversations and I could see now what Andrew had told me. Doug was more than interested in me and made sure he would be the only one to deal with me. We made some small talk before the guys started to play some games and gotten themselves drunk while I had decided to keep myself busy for a change, trying not to intervene with whatever they were doing. In the beginning I had tried to listen to their conversation but they didn't say anything interesting so I had stopped doing that. In the end I had crashed down near the kitchenette, on one of the seats against the wall of the boat. With the guys taking up all the beds available I was doomed to sleep there on this trip.

"... but why?" I heard Al ask. I tried not to let them know I was awake by now so I could eavesdrop a bit. Maybe I could come home with some new facts after all since it had been a very fruitless trip so far. "He's become a weak link," Frank answered a bit annoyed. "If you start saving lives of eye-witnesses you've become unreliable," Frank added.

The guys had come down from the wheelhouse and were about to reach the room I was in. "So when are they going to kill him?" Al asked again which was followed by a hush from Frank. "The guy is living his final day," he whispered. They must have reached the kitchenette since I heard the rattling of cups but I didn't dare to open my eyes yet or move as a sign I was awake. "Doug how much did you put in her drink?" Frank asked.

I hadn't heard the third man yet but he must have come in with the others. "Just one sleeping pill. But hey, they were prescribed to my gigantic granny. I guess one tablet was too much for her small body," Doug answered with a laugh. I was alarmed. They had done what? Fed me sleeping pills? Why? "Wake her up will you. We do need someone to get us back home," Frank ordered. Doug sat down next to me and removed a strand of hair out of my face. "Kate," he whispered. "Kate wake up," he softly said.

I was going to make it a bit hard for him but mostly because, in the background, I heard Al ask: "If he is gone, does that mean we don't have a boss anymore?" While Doug tried to wake me by softly shaking my body by now Frank answered Al: "What do you think? There always will be a boss. Now stop asking me stupid questions and get me some coffee." Doug shook me again. "Kate, you really have to wake up now," he pleaded.

I blinked my eyes and shifted around a bit. I wanted to look as natural as possible when woken up by someone but when I opened my eyes completely I became seriously alarmed. "What time is it?" I asked when I sat up right. The sun was high up in the sky which meant it was late morning or early afternoon. "Sleeping beauty is awake," Doug joked. I wanted to stand up and inspect the boat but the sudden movement caused me to black out for a second. "Steady," Doug said while he put his hands on my shoulders and pushed me down again.

I knew what was wrong with me although I wasn't supposed to know yet. I wondered if Doug would give me a straight answer if I somehow asked for it. "What's wrong with me? Normally I'm the first one up," I said dramatically. "Uhm, that's my fault," Doug said with a grin on his face. It surprised me that he confessed this easily. "You see, we needed to go somewhere uhm, private," he continued. "So I spiked your drink last night."

I was really angry but I couldn't go over the top or they wouldn't ask for my services again or it wouldn't be believable if I offered my services myself. I decided to act annoyed instead. "Why don't you trust me? You don't think I still believe you're here just for _fishing_. I don't care what you do as long as you keep me out of it. I just rent my boat and my services to you. You could have asked me to go downstairs or something if I wasn't allowed to see your _fish_," I said sarcastically.

My little game with Doug was disturbed by Frank who came back inside to see if I was awake and, if so, if I was ready to _work_ again. "I'm sorry," he started. "but I do need to be back in Cairns before six pm," he said without literally asking me to hurry up. "Let me put on some clothes. I'll be up in ten minutes," I answered his unasked question. I left Doug behind although I bet he would have loved to be present while I quickly cleaned up.

When I came up to the helm of the boat I realised we weren't at the same spot as where we were the night before. The fact they had spiked my drink plus the fact we had moved after I had anchored suddenly became a bit more alarming. They really didn't want anyone to know about their business, including me. I still had to gain a lot of trust before they wouldn't do such things anymore.

I had woken up with a bad feeling about my situation but this piece of news didn't help brighten up my day. "Frank, I know you're doing something, well, let's just say it, illegal," I said to the ginger head man. "But I really don't like it when things happen without my knowledge or," I paused to get some air. "Or when my drink is spiked. I told Doug that you should tell me or ask me to look the other way or something but please don't do this again," I finished. Frank just shrugged and went back downstairs, followed by Doug and Al.

The rest of the trip back home was in silence. Even Doug didn't come up to talk to me. I did hear Frank lecture Doug and tell him to teach me to respect _them_ more. I wasn't scared but Frank most definitely wouldn't come back on my boat. Not even for three times the money they had paid for this trip. As soon as I had docked Frank, followed closely by Doug and Al, left the boat. They didn't realise I noticed the extra bag they carried. I hated not knowing what they had brought back this time or even where they had picked it up. Because of this I didn't like to call Andrew and explain I had been drugged and therefore couldn't give him much details. I also wondered if he would let me have another drug test to make sure Doug hadn't given me anything more dangerous than a sleeping pill. The last thing I wanted was to be stuck in a hospital all evening while I really wanted to call Mike and see if he had time to meet me. I wanted, no _needed_, to explain a few things.


	12. XII Doug

**Doug**

I got into the car with Al and Frank after we arrived back in port. Frank wanted to drop the twenty kilos of cocaine off at _Rooster's _place. No one knew his real name but we didn't care. He paid us good money and as long as that happened we couldn't be bothered by something as simple as a name. Rooster lived in a villa in the nice part of Cairns which happened to be at the other side of town so it took us a while to get there but neither Al or Frank said anything. I didn't have anything to say either. I still was pissed off for the scolding Frank had given me earlier. He wasn't as much charmed by Kate as I was actually Frank just didn't like anyone who commented on his orders and Kate had quite frankly told him what she thought of our trick with the sleeping pill. I had to admit I agreed with her and Frank noticed that. Even if I didn't agree with her I would have gotten the scolding anyway. I was the one to have brought Kate into the business. I felt bad for her to receive the cold shoulder and Frank wouldn't let me alone with her on our way back. Probably he was scared she would ask questions she shouldn't and in the end I couldn't thank her properly or say goodbye but I would call her later today.

It was busy with lots of cars and trucks at the villa. Even Frank was a bit confused about it all on what was going on. Inside Rooster was ordering some businessmen around but he eagerly greeted us when he we came up to him. "Guys!" he said when we reached him. "Did you have a good catch this trip?" he asked. Frank nodded and Al showed him the bag. "Oh Al, could you bring it to the kitchen while I'll pay your friends," Rooster said. Al didn't really understand why he had to bring the drugs to the kitchen but then Rooster winked at the guy hanging some party lamps in the hallway. "I'm giving a party tonight. Why don't you all come and bring your ladies too," Rooster said as a sort of explanation to Al why he couldn't mention the drugs right now. Suddenly Al understood and took the bag and pretended to go to the kitchen while Frank and I followed Rooster to his office.

"You started glowing when I mentioned ladies," Rooster said to me while he padded me on the back. I couldn't help but started smiling like a little boy. It was answer enough for Rooster who started laughing. "Last time I saw you, you were less fortunate. So, tell me, what's her name? Describe her to me," he invited me. We had reached his impressive office and while he opened the safe and started counting money he urged me to answer. "Well," I started to back off a bit. "she isn't my girlfriend yet but I do see potential." Rooster nodded while making nice stacks of bank notes. "You can do better than that," he joked. "Come on. What does she look like?" he asked again. "Blonde, petite but fiery," I answered with a big smile while imagining Kate in front of me.

I had closed my eyes for a second but when I opened them again I didn't see Rooster's happy face but Frank's disappointed one. Rooster saw it too and gave him the money. "You don't like her?" he asked Frank. Frank shrugged and put the money away. "She's the driver of the boat we hired. I think she's trouble," he answered. Rooster shook his hand and smiled an even bigger smile. "No worries mate. We checked her and the boat. A couple of days ago we took the boat for a spin around the waters. The boat is checked for bugs or mics etcetera. It's clean. The lady has no criminal record and rents her boat out for a living. Don't worry," he said to Frank again.

Frank would worry even more but didn't dare to show it to Rooster. The latter handed me a bank note of a 1000 dollars and reassuringly said: "I saw a picture of her. She's a stunner. Buy her a nice dress and bring her along tonight." He turned to Frank and asked: "Will I see you tonight?" Frank shrugged. "Don't know yet," he said but I could hear in his voice he was declining. I didn't mind. Frank was turning into a grumpy old man and we didn't need him around on a party.

Too bad I still had twenty minutes left together with this man. He was going to drive me home but he didn't waste a second and as soon as I got into the car he gave me an angry glare. "Rooster might like her but I assure you she's trouble," he threatened. I wanted to say something to defend Kate or even my own feelings but before I could say anything Frank continued. "Didn't she say she had to check with her _boss_ if she could sail? How's that possible if she only rents her boat for a living?" I didn't know how to answer that. "I can't stop you from seeing her but if you do I want you to find out who she is. Oh, and be careful on what you say to her. We don't need any leaks," he warned me.

Frank dropped me off but before he drove away he grabbed my arm. "I want to know everything about her work. Ask her! Oh and next week we need the boat again," he said before he let go of me. I knew I couldn't call him before I knew about Kate's profession and the assurance we could use the boat and I shouldn't wait too long to find it out. If not I would be in big trouble and Kate in even bigger trouble. I didn't want to know what Frank would do to her. I shook my head to get rid of a terrible image of Kate, beaten and killed. The game we played was ruthless and a dangerous one. If you were a liability you had to be stopped. I knew that and had never had any problems with the consequences but with Kate it was different. I really liked her and she would be pulled into this game just because of me. I felt a responsibility towards her.

Tonight, I decided, I would do nothing towards finding out about anything. Well, only if it meant finding out if Kate liked me too. I got my mobile and called her. "Hey Kate," I said enthusiastically. "A friend of mine invited me to a party tonight. Do you like to come along?" I asked. I hoped she didn't have anything planned. She sighed and paused before she answered: "Tonight? I actually wanted to put my feet up and do nothing," she answered me. I sighed too. "It's going to be fun!" I tried to convince her. "Your friend," she hesitatingly started. "He isn't Frank by any chance because if so I'm definitely not coming," she stated. "No! And he's not coming either," I replied. Happy I could give her this answer. I already had the feeling she didn't like Frank and for once I was glad he didn't want to come to a party. I already heard Kate's beautiful laughter through the phone and knew she was about to say change her mind. "I'll get you something to wear so don't worry about that," I said and now Kate started to laugh even more. "How are you going to do that Doug? Do you know my dress size and what kind of shoes should I wear?" she asked me. I sighed again. I hadn't thought about that. "OK, I'll come by your house and pick you up. I'll take you shopping," I changed my plan. I heard her swallow something but couldn't understand what it was. Was she going to decline after all? "You don't mind that?" I asked her. "Come on, it'll be fun," I pressed. "Tell me where I should pick you up," I said eagerly.

There was a long silence from her side and I just crossed my fingers she wouldn't decline. I really wanted to show her that I was serious and that my behaviour on the boat earlier today was not like me. I wanted to make up for it! "Please," I said one more time. It sounded pathetic like I was begging. "OK, but no new dress. I've got my own and that'll do, thank you. You can pick me up at the harbour around eight, if that's OK," she finally answered. I was about to do a little dance and she would decline for certain if she could see the stupid grin on my face. "Fine! Fine. I'll pick you up," I answered. I hung up the phone and started to prepare myself to go out. A long shower, some nice after shave and even an ironed shirt to wear. It all had to lead to me asking Kate to go out on a _real_ date. One where we would be on our own, not on work business or at a party of a man connected to work.

When it was about time I drove myself to the harbour. There, waiting for it to turn eight o'clock, I realised it was a bit weird for me to pick her up at this place. Didn't she have a real home to go to? She couldn't be living on the boat, could she? I shook the strange feeling away and told myself it was just Kate's way of protecting herself. She didn't know me that well yet and probably didn't want me to know where she lived, _yet_. I didn't have to wait long before I saw her walking down the jetty towards the car park. She looked stunning in a cute purple dress and with her hair flowing in the wind. I waved at her and she got into my car not long after.

At Rooster's house there was already a hive of activity going on. The party lights were blinking and a nice beat told me there was going to be a lot of dancing going on tonight. Just for show I linked my arm in hers while we walked up to the house. "Someone's a little bit possessive," she teased me. I smiled at her and guided her further into the house. "Can I get you anything to drink?" I asked her. She simply nodded and said something which I couldn't hear. We had come too close to the live band to have a normal conversation anymore. " A white wine," she yelled into my ear.

Behind me I saw Rooster who smiled and waved at me. He made his way through the crowd and I decided to give him a little bit of a show, make him think Kate and I were this great couple. I looked at Kate again and put my hand on her shoulder, just a little bit more intimate then I would have done. "White wine?" I asked her as a reassurance even though I had heard it properly the second time. "I'll get it, just wait here," I said. Before I walked away Rooster had reached us and padded me on the back. "You did bring her after all. She's gorgeous," he said out loud. Then he moved in closer and whispered: "I do have a room upstairs whenever you're ready for _that_." It was meant to be a whisper but I wondered how much Kate had heard and understood about it. She did look really uncomfortable. "The drinks," I said, pointing at the bar. It was a good escape and it would give her some time to get over her awkwardness.

When I walked back I saw Rooster just leaving Kate, who by now stood extremely uncomfortable. For a minute I thought she was about to run away and never return but she just stood there and did nothing. I would get to hear whatever Rooster had said to her when I was going to give her her wine but first Rooster tapped me at my shoulder. "What's up with her?" he asked me sounding harsh and irritated. I squeezed my eyes and tried to figure out what he meant. The only thing I had seen was Rooster, smiling and feeling happy, together with Kate. "What do you mean?" I asked, hoping I wouldn't get another person complaining about Kate. "She's a bit nosy," Rooster answered. "Besides that she needs to loosen up a bit. I've got something for you two," he added while he put something in my pocket. "Don't look," he warned me when I wanted to check what he had put in it. "You know what it is. And warn your little lady as well. I don't like it when people ask me questions," he said before he walked away from me.

It all had happened so quickly that I didn't even know what to think of it. Was he angry or was he joking? One thing I knew for sure was to warn Kate not to ask any more questions. "What did you say to him?" I asked her before handing her the wine I got her. "Did I say something wrong?" she asked me in return. I shrugged. "He didn't say," I said. Kate shrugged as well and took a sip from her glass. "I did ask him about his name. I love to hear the stories behind nicknames. I once knew a guy named 'Spider' but his last name was 'Webb' so that makes sense," she explained. It made sense to me now. Rooster wasn't keen on people asking him about his name. "Rooster must come from _somewhere_," Kate continued with a laugh. I clung my glass against hers and smiled at her. "Best not to ask him that question again. He's a private kind of guy," I told her.

Kate had quickly started another topic of conversation but something stuck to the back of my mind. Rooster hadn't said she had to loosen up just for nothing or the fact that he was irritated by her questions. He had been so elated about Kate earlier today. She must have done or said something to get up his nerves. I tried to forget about it and enjoy the night but it didn't seem to work. Finally I remembered the little gift Rooster had given me and I took Kate off the dance floor and towards a quiet table where I made her sit down. "Are you enjoying yourself?" I asked her. She smiled at me but it wasn't the convincing smile I had seen before. "If you want to go home we can," I told her but she shook her head. "No! Oh no, I am enjoying myself. I'm just a bit tired that's all," she answered. I showed her the little sachet Rooster had given me and smiled. "You won't be tired for long," I joked.

Kate was a bit shocked when she saw the coke I put on the table but she recovered from her initial shock. "Is it the drugs you guys picked up earlier today?" she asked me cheekily. I couldn't do anything else but laugh and nod. "You're too clever little missy," I said while I touched the tip of her nose. "And don't worry. Most people here are _very_ used to using. They won't call the cops if that's what you're scared of," I assured her. She relaxed and waited for me to divide the coke into nice lines. I took a quick line and shove the saucer towards her. She just sat there and did nothing. I had never seen something like that before. Why wouldn't she dive into the coke while it was possible? It was first class stuff, not something you wanted to deny. "Come on. What are you waiting for?" I asked her. She smiled at me and bent forwards. In one go she sniffed up a line before she pushed the saucer back to me. "You can have another line if you want to," I offered after I sniffed my second line. She shook her head and wiped her nose. "You're not the driver tonight. I'll get you home safely," I said to her, giving back her own words while I pushed the saucer across the table once more. She looked around as to see if no one would see what she was doing and then bent forwards again.

It didn't take long for the coke to set in and we enjoyed ourselves enormously on the dance floor. We were about the last persons at the party and I even thought the sun was about to come up when I felt the need to lie down. "Can I bring you home?" I asked her. Kate smiled and put up her finger in the air. "No," she slurred. "I'm not allowed to tell you where I live," she said. I grabbed her hand and kissed her finger. She was drunk and probably stoned. "You're not? So how can I bring you home if you don't tell me?" I challenged her. Her full face turned into the biggest frown I'd ever seen. "I don't know," she answered with a laugh. While I guided her towards my car and let her in I thought about the options available. I didn't want to leave her behind in one of Roosters rooms and I couldn't bring her back to the boat. She would go green of misery if I did that with all the alcohol she had consumed and not to mention the coke. There was only one option I could think of. "I'll take you to my place," I said to her while I fastened her seatbelt.

Kate agreed to everything. She didn't mind going back to my place, she let me help her out of the car. She didn't even mind that there was only one bed in my grubby apartment. "I'll sleep on the couch," I offered. Actually I really wanted to say I wanted to sleep with her in one bed but that wouldn't be fair. She was off her face right now. "But it's your bed," she protested while she slid out of her dress. It was my turn to be nailed to the ground and not be able to say or do anything. She was pretty, standing there in her underwear. "Have you never seen a woman in her bra and undies before?" she teased me while she draped her arms around me. "Come on. Get out of your clothes and into that bed," she said while she pointed at the mattress on the floor which I didn't even want to call a real bed. "Kate," I said sounding seriously while I tried to get her arms untangled. "I really want to sleep with you but I want to wait until you're not drunk anymore. I want you to make a conscious decision. So tonight you'll sleep there," I pointed at the mattress and I'll sleep somewhere there," I pointed to a piece of junk where I knew would be my couch.

I straightened the sheets on the bed and padded at the empty spot. "You can sleep here," I said and Kate crashed down without any hesitation. I covered her with a blanket and kissed her forehead. "Sleep well," I whispered. She groaned and pulled the blanket up even further. She was amazing and I couldn't believe it yet she was in my house but by the looks of it she was going to wake up with a huge hangover. I just hoped she could remember some of what had happened tonight since it was such a success. Hopefully she wanted to go out with me another time. I swiped away everything from the couch and dropped my tired body onto it. From the couch I could see her sleeping form and with that image I fell asleep not much later.


	13. XIII Kate

**Kate**

My head hurt. I knew that even before I opened my eyes. I tried hard to remember what I had done to get such a headache but my brain wasn't functioning yet. I turned around in bed and got myself another question: Why was I still wearing my bra? I could feel the stupid thing and it was poking me in my chest. Usually when I was too pissed to do anything else I would still take off my bra. The only time I slept in one was while on Hammersley and there was a reason for that. I needed to be ready at any time while on board. On board there was no time to think about getting dressed. It still didn't explain why I was wearing one now. I wasn't on the Hammersley and I wasn't at home either. Actually, I opened my eyes to confirm what I was thinking, I didn't know where I was.

I didn't recognise this place and I started to think the worst. I saw my purple dress draped on a chair near the bed I was on, which wasn't more than a stinky mattress. Quickly I peeked under the blanket and saw I was still wearing my undies. "Good," I sighed in relief while I sat up right. "Hey, you're awake," someone said, walking into the room. "Oh god," I muttered when I recognised Doug, who was only wearing a towel around his waste. I put the blanket around my shouldersp]to cover up my body hoping _really hoping_ we hadn't done anything stupid. Doug must have seen my worry and answered the question for me: "I slept on the couch."

I don't think I ever was so relieved, and I have had my fair share of stupid moments, I have to admit. I don't have any feelings for this guy but he is supposed to think the opposite. I really wished I hadn't given him any wrong impression. I don't even remember how we ended up at this place. "What _did_ we do?" I asked while I put my head against my knees and closed my eyes. I was afraid this headache was going to last a long time. "We had fun at a party," Doug answered before he pulled a t-shirt over his head. "And?" I asked a bit insecure. I didn't know for sure if I wanted to know. Doug didn't answer but put on some clothes instead. In the meantime I rubbed the temples of my head, trying to remember _anything_.

I felt the mattress move a bit, followed by Doug's hand stroking my hair. "You really feel terrible, don't you?" he said. I couldn't figure out if he was making fun of me or if he was really concerned. "Yeah," I growled. "Tell me," Doug started. "Have you ever used more than one line of coke before?" I shot him a look knowing I was busted. _More than one line? What about just one line?_ "Together with too much alcohol?" I asked trying to divert the question a bit. "Oh and after waking up from that sleeping pill fiasco?" I added. Doug lifted my chin and chuckled. "That sleeping pill had truly passed your system by last night. You didn't drink too excessively and you know, there's nothing wrong with knowing your limits. If yours is just one line of coke than you should stick to that. You could have told me," he said. He sounded so nice and it made me feel even more terrible. I was about to cry but I couldn't do that! "Will you be honest with me next time?" Doug asked me before he placed a kiss on my forehead.

I produced some sort of a smile and kissed him on his cheek. "You are a gentleman," I praised him. He looked at me and backed off a bit. "I might deal drugs but I'm not a bad guy," he joked. It made me laugh but I regretted my outburst as soon as my head started thrusting. Again I rested my head on my knees, hoping it would calm down a bit. I felt Doug's arm on my shoulder which made me feel a bit uncomfortable. I was still sitting in my _underwear_ on _his_ bed with him _very_ close. I needed a tactic to get him sidetracked before he would ask me something I'd rather not do. _Asking questions_ I thought. Doug had just admitted to being a drug dealer. Maybe I could get some more information out of him. "A nice drug dealer. I've never met one before," I said while I tried to look up and look at him. He gave me a quizzical look. "Never seen a drug dealer or never seen a nice version?" he asked me. I shrugged. "The dealers I've met in my life were pretty cranky or just plain rude," I answered.

I didn't even tell him a lie. The one drug dealer I'd ever, personally, met before was rude, mean and very disrespectful and the other _dealers_ didn't deal in drugs. "Happy to oblige," Doug said with a smile. I copied his smile and put my head back on my knees, not for any other reason than to hide my nerves while I continued asking questions. "What kind of drugs do you deal?" I asked. It became scarily silent before Doug cleared his throat. "Whatever you want but coke is the main thing," he answered.

Should I look at him now or would he see I was prying? "Why do you want to know?" he asked me. I shrugged, not knowing what else to do. "Just interested. I do like the occasional line," I lied. "Couldn't you get me some drugs once in a while?" I asked him. I looked up and tried to read his facial expression. "I will pay for it of course," I added. Whatever he was thinking I couldn't figure it out. "I'll see what I can do," he said but I didn't believe him yet. I don't think he bought my lie as well. "Can you do something for me?" he asked me in return. I sighed and looked him in the eye hoping he wouldn't say something about my lies. "Don't look so worried," he teased me. "I'm just wondering if we could rent your boat next week. I'm afraid it means taking Frank again but I'll promise you to keep him in line," he said sounding really hopeful. I cringed at the thought of having to take Frank along on another run but it was probably the only way to get to the bottom of this drug business.

Suddenly he sighed and hit his head with his hand. "Actually I wanted to ask you something else," he said. "About renting the boat still stands and I do hope it's possible but what I really wanted to ask you is-" he stopped when he saw my worried face. "Kate, relax," he said with a huge smile. "What do you think I'm going to ask you?" he wondered out loud. I shrugged and sighed. I couldn't tell him I was scared he knew I was an undercover person trying to find out as much as possible about a drug syndicate. "I only want to ask you out on a date. Like going to the movies or having dinner," he said. I was so glad it was as simple as that, that I smiled and agreed to go out with him before I knew what I had done. "And about renting the boat," I added while I wondered what I was supposed to say. "You've got to check with your boss?" Doug asked me.

It was my turn to give him a quizzical look. "My boss?" I asked him. I tried to remember what I had told him before now that he mentioned a boss. When Andrew had taken me to the hotel, and drill me in all the lies I had to tell these people, he had told me I didn't have a job and simply rented out my boat for a living. "When I called you the first time to ask you about your availability you told me you had to check with your boss," Doug explained. I couldn't remember saying that but if he said so it must be true. "Did I say that?" I said to stall for time trying to come up with a plausible answer. "You sure did," he confirmed. "Oh," I silently said. "I must have said that out loud. You see, I call my planner 'my boss' because it basically rules my life," I answered, happy with my clever answer.

Doug bought it and got off the mattress. "You want to take a shower?" he asked. I frowned. If his bathroom was anything like the rest of his house it wouldn't be too inviting. "Thanks but I think I'll do that at home," I answered quickly. Doug started to look hurt so I added: "I don't have any clean clothes here or any of my toiletries so I might as well get back into my dress and go home." Doug agreed and handed me the piece of clothing so I could put it back on. "I'll drive you. Just tell me where I can drop you off," he offered.

The last thing I wanted was for him to know where I lived but he had sounded suspicious already when I told him to pick me up at the harbour yesterday. Could I ask him again to go there? Then I remembered my car was parked at the harbour so I actually really needed to go there. While I straightened the dress and put my shoes back on I said: "The harbour. You can bring me back there." I wasn't too surprised when he looked disappointed. "Do you _live_ on that boat or something?" he asked teasingly. I shook my head. "No I don't but where I _do_ live will stay a secret for a bit longer. Maybe after date three or four," I teased him back. "It's not fair. You know where I live," he sulked although I knew he didn't really mean it. "Maybe," I shrugged. "Maybe I'll tell you one day," I teased.

I didn't dare to ask many more questions while Doug drove me back to the harbour. I wasn't feeling too good in the first place with my head pounding like crazy. Doug on the other hand was asking me all kind of questions about where I came from, where I had worked before and if I minded being called a drug runner now. The first questions were answered with vague replies. Enough for him to be satisfied but still not enough for him to find out who I really was. His last question didn't bother me so I simply smiled. "Should it be a problem?" I asked him. He shrugged and gave me a quick look in between looking at the road. "I'm asking you because if it really is a problem to you we should stop now," he said. I didn't know what to say to him. Was he warning me off? What for? It didn't fit my image of a drug dealer either. Drug dealers didn't care, full stop, but Doug was seriously concerned for me.

We had reached the harbour and Doug parked the car before he looked at me. "I care about you Kate," he said lovingly. "You haven't seen anything so if you want to get out you should do it now. If the cops ask you anything you can answer them truthfully." I looked at him but didn't give him an answer. "I wouldn't blame you," Doug continued. "It can be a harsh business." I nodded now. "So what are you telling me? That the previous trip was mainly a test run and that the next, if there is a next time, will be dangerous?" I asked him. Doug turned his poker face on and shrugged. "I can't tell you of course, although from now on it could be a lot more serious. Serious as in if the cops get you. They're not keen on people getting drugs into the country," he explained. "What if I call the cops this afternoon?" I wondered, trying to sound innocent. "I'd have to kill you," Doug answered.

The way he said it gave me the creeps. As if my life meant nothing. I suppressed the question if he had ever killed someone before and made myself ready to get out of the car. "You're funny," I joked to get over the creepy feeling. "You're a gentleman so I won't give you any reason to change that. Thank you for a wonderful night. I'll let you know if I'm available next week," I told him. "Don't wait too long to call me. And I was serious. I will take you out on a date," he said before I waved at him a last time before I started walking towards my boat.


	14. XiV Mike

**Mike**

Whenever I have shore leave I always end up doing paperwork. That's why I don't really like having shore leave. The only thing, or I should say person, who could change that was out of reach at the moment. So, I had thrown myself at my paperwork which was now all finished but my shore leave wasn't. I still had three full days to battle through. I had opened my laptop to check my e-mail and was hoping to hear from my cop friend who was checking up on Kate. It felt so wrong to do but I wanted answers badly and what else could I do? In what way was she involved with the feds? Had it anything to do with the fact she didn't get her promotion? Does she have anything to be ashamed of?

The program opened and I saw a couple of unread mails in front of me, including the one I was waiting for. My heart quickened a bit with the thought it could finally give me some answers. I looked at the subject line and read: "A few answers but be aware..." Part of me wanted to open the mail right away but the other part hesitated. If I would start with this mail I would probably end up not being remotely interested in the others. That's why I opened a mail from Maxine first. She wanted to let me know Kate was due back at work on Monday but that it wasn't sure yet if she was coming along as my XO. She asked me to come in early at Navcom that morning. She would arrange it with Kate and then we could have _the_ talk.

With a quick reply I let her know I would be there hoping we could come to a solution. _Like going back to the old setting with Kate being my XO._ I closed the mail and scanned through the other unread mails. There were a few junk mails which I deleted without opening them and then I saw one that caught my eye. It was from my mother with the very simple order: "Give us an update Michael Flynn!" She had actually put _that_ as the subject of the mail. It was hard not to follow her orders and reluctantly I opened her mail and answered it like a good son. Finally I was ready to read _the_ mail when my mobile beeped. A text message had come in. Almost as in a reflex I grabbed my phone and looked who had contacted me. "Kate?" I said out loud, totally gobsmacked seeing who had send me the text message. _Kate_ I thought.

_Can we talk? I'm on a boat in the harbour, the Golden Sunshine. We should talk, don't you agree? Please meet me there when you can._

I read the message a couple of times, not knowing what to think. Of course I agreed with her. We should talk but did she have to make it sound like _I_ was the one who had been avoiding all contact for almost a week? I so wanted to see her, be around her and be able to have a conversation with her and this seemed like a good opportunity _but_ was it the right thing to do? I was clearly told to stay away from her and although it was an invitation this text message wasn't very inviting. On the other hand I could wait until Monday morning, when we would be together with Maxine, but that would also mean we couldn't discuss certain subjects.

I read the message one more time and decided to send her one back:

_Yes I agree. Does it have to be in the harbour? What's wrong with my place?_

I put my phone down and looked at my e-mail box again. There was still the unread mail from my friend for me to read. The subject line was a bit confusing though. I wanted answers so why should I be _aware_ and of _what_? Was it a way to warn me that the contents of the mail weren't going to be good? Did I have a choice not to read it now I knew I had to be _aware_? I took a deep breath and decided that I should read it and be done with it. I wanted answers and now I got them. Without anymore hesitation I clicked on the mail and started reading:

_Dear Mike,_

_First of all I want to stress that the contents of this mail are for your eyes only and that you're not allowed to share this information with anyone else. I trust you._

_It took me a little while to figure out some inconsistencies. I always thought your officers in the navy had to be 'clean'. Kate McGregor is clean __**but**__ she does seem to have a history with the AFP. I'll explain it while I'll continue this mail….._

I leaned back in my chair. _Kate had a history with the AFP but didn't have a criminal record? What was that supposed to mean?_ I wanted to continue reading when my phone rang. "Mike Flynn," I answered without looking who was actually disturbing me. "Mike?" a weak voice spoke. "It's Kate. I'm sorry I didn't call you before," she said. I turned around as if she was standing in my room. "Where are you?" I asked her worriedly. "In the harbour," she quickly replied. "Oh Mike, I'm so sorry. I-" she started but I interrupted her. "Are you OK? You don't sound OK," I answered my own question. She sighed and I could just see her sitting somewhere, shrugging and hating the fact she had to admit to not being strong. "I'll be fine. If you're coming could you bring some painkillers for me? I seemed to have forgotten them and I have a splitting headache," she answered.

To me there was no question anymore. I would come and see for myself that she was going to be fine. If not I would make sure she was going to get the help she needed. What I did want to know was why she was feeling so terrible and what she had done or even why she was in the harbour. I should just pack up and go to her so I could ask it. "The harbour, where in the harbour are you?" I asked her. She explained how I could find her and without much thought I shut down my computer and packed a few things before I left.

The boat wasn't hard to find. On my way to the harbour I already wondered why the name _the Golden Sunshine_ was so familiar but when I saw it and stood in front of it I realised it was the stolen boat we had brought back earlier this week. I jumped onto the boat and knocked on the door but there was no answer. "Kate?" I said while I entered the living area. "Kate are you inside?" I asked. At the end of the little hallway I saw stairs going down and when I walked that way I could hear some movement downstairs. "Kate are you there? Can I come down?" This time I heard the familiar voice and Kate's face appeared around the corner. "Oh god, you look awful," I exclaimed. "Thanks a lot!" she replied sarcastically. "I hope you brought the painkillers. My head is killing me," she complained.

While I nodded I came further down and saw the nice looking bedroom. "Nice boat you've got here," I said, still admiring the surroundings. Kate had crawled back onto the bed and grabbed a bottle of water from the side table. I decided not to let her wait much longer and searched my pockets for the promised pills. "If you're feeling so crappy then how can we talk?" I wondered while I handed two pills to her. Kate swallowed them and took some water before she answered: "I didn't feel _this_ bad thirty minutes ago." She gave me a sorrowful look and laid down. I felt sorry for her but at the same time I had come for some answers here too. I tried not to let her see my annoyance and sat down next to her. She really _did_ look crappy and a bit dishevelled so I stroked her hair out of her face as if that would make it all better. "What have you done to feel like this? Are you sure a couple of painkillers will be enough? I can take you to see a doctor you know," I said. I hadn't finished yet or she bolted upright and shook her head. "No, no doctor," she almost yelled, then she calmed down and crashed back into the pillows. "I know what's wrong with me and I do _not_ need to see a doctor!" she stated.

Her reaction was so typical. As soon as anyone even hinted to seeing a doctor or going to a hospital Kate would freeze, panic and stubbornly tell she didn't need medical attention. "Well," I started, sounding as nice as I could. "I'll make a deal with you. You're going to sleep for an hour or two and if you still look the same I'm going to take you to a doctor. I'll drag you if I have to. _But_ if you're better we'll see if you're up to talking," I told her. Kate was too exhausted to fight and just closed her eyes and mumbled something inaudible. "Sweet dreams," I whispered. Kate opened her eyes again and smiled at me. "I think I'll be able to do that now you're here," she said and then she lost her smile and asked: "What are you going to do while I'm asleep?" She sat back up and looked around as if she was looking for something. "You can take the boat out for a spin if you want," she encouraged me. I smiled at her and pushed her back down. "I'll find something to do," I answered before I walked back up the stairs and looked around the boat a bit. It was such a beautiful boat with all the luxury on it to make you feel like a king or queen. I had only seen it from a distance when we found it at sea and Dutchy and Swain had lead the steaming party to bring it back to port where the police had taken it from them so even then I didn't get to have a look at it.

After looking at all the different rooms on board I sat down in the living area. With Kate being asleep for the next couple of hours I regretted not taking my laptop with me so I could do some work. Knowing Kate she would bring some paper along while being away but I didn't know for how long she had been on this boat already and what was actually hers. I looked at the stairs and remembered Kate's words. I _could_ take the boat out. Kate would make sure that by the time she was awake again she would look better, everything to make sure I wasn't going to drag her to a doctor. If we were out at sea we could have our long awaited talk without the possibility of one of us trying to do a runner. Adding to that was the advantage of no one else around to overhear our conversation. Maybe taking this boat out for a spin wasn't such a bad idea after all.

I had found a nice, quiet, spot where I had dropped the anchor. There was nothing else but sea around and it would be the perfect place to have a good talk. I looked at my watch and noticed Kate had been asleep for about two hours already. In all that time I hadn't gone down to check on her since I wanted her to really get some rest but now I decided it was time for her to wake up. I made two cups of coffee and took them down with me to the bedroom where Kate was in. When I walked in she just opened her eyes and gave me a weak smile. "I woke up because of that smell," she said. I sat down on the bed and handed her one of the cups. "Did you get some rest?" I asked her.

It was a rhetorical question because I could see she was looking a lot better. To show me how she felt she sat upright and rearranged the pillows so she could lean against them. "Thanks," she said while looking at me. I shrugged. Making a coffee wasn't that hard to make. "Not just for the coffee," she said and I looked amazed, wondering how she could have read my mind so well. "Thank you for letting me sleep or bringing the painkillers. Thank you for coming," she added. "You're welcome," I replied, not knowing what else to say. Now she was feeling better we could have our long awaited talk as well but I didn't know how or where to start. It wasn't that I didn't have questions to ask but she had invited _me_ for a talk so she should start, I thought.

We both drank our coffee in silence while I waited for her to make an attempt to start the conversation but it just didn't happen. "You wanted to talk," I finally said as some sort of an beginning. She nodded and looked at me apologetically. "Maybe I should start with an apology," she sighed audibly. Somehow she was really struggling to get it off her chest. She wanted to but at the same time she was stalling for time. It was almost funny how she was looking for escapes. First she placed her empty coffee cup on the night stand next to the bed and then she rearranged the pillows before she straightened her clothes and hair. "An apology," I said. I had wanted to make it sound like a tease but it didn't come across like that at all. She flinched and looked down. I quickly grabbed her hands as a reassurance to let her know I meant well. "It took us so long to get together. That on it's own is worth an apology but I didn't mean to sound so harsh," I apologised myself, hoping she would open up and tell me what she wanted to say in the first place.

"Mike," Kate started again, looking me in my eyes. "I guess you're right," she exhaled and pulled back her hands from my grip. "I wanted to apologise for the fact that it took so long to get back to Cairns when you were arrested," she explained. I smiled at her, thankfully, and wanted to say I appreciated that gesture but she continued: "I was out that morning. You see-" she waited and thought hard how to formulate her next words. "I. I'm helping the feds and had been out on this boat with some-" again she stopped and thought for a second. "Andrew - he's a cop - he had heard – something – he came around to my place early that morning and took me to the hospital. The tests took forever and when they were finally done Andrew decided we were going to have some lunch. That's when I heard you were in the cells. I wanted to-"

I gasped and stood up from the bed. I didn't understand everything she was telling me but _lunchtime! _It was around eight pm when I was finally released. Did she seriously have to keep me waiting several hours before she came to my rescue? "Lunchtime?" I yelled angrily at her. "At that time they were still _interviewing_ me. God, Kate. You know what it's like to be interviewed like a criminal? Being _treated_ like a criminal?" I wondered out loud. "Two hours. It took them _two hours_ to interview me and _then_ they put me in a cell," I ranted, totally ignoring her shocked expression. "You _were_ the criminal that day," she spat back at me. "You broke into my house!"

Kate got off the bed as well and stormed out of the bedroom and up the stairs. I just sat and waited for her to realise we were out at sea and that there was nowhere to go. I sighed and looked at the bed. Our _talk_ didn't go as well as I had hoped and it hurt that she thought I was the criminal but something in her voice told me there was more to her comment. Maybe if we could continue our talk I could get to the bottom of it and find out what she really thought. I heard her stumbling and a few seconds later she came down again. Her way of walking was a lot calmer now. She stopped at the door opening and looked at me. "You did take the boat out for a spin," she said jokingly. I was a bit surprised by her turn around but didn't say anything about it. She looked at me and sighed before she continued talking. "I know you're not a criminal and I also know you did what you did because you cared. Just promise me you'll never do that again," she pleaded. "I promise," I honestly stated. I had already promised myself to never again getting arrested.

Now we had yelled at each other the worst part seemed to be over. Hopefully we could start again and have a good talk. I smiled at her to let her know I wasn't angry anymore. I had never been angry at her in the first place. Not about the arresting matter but it did bring me back to the other subject I wanted to talk about. Just before our little outburst she had said a couple of things which didn't make much sense to me. "You had to go to hospital?" I asked her. Kate nodded while she came into the room and sat down next to me. "Why?" I asked her. Kate shrugged and looked down at her feet. "Nothing special," she murmured. "I'm not sick or anything," she quickly added while she looked at my face.

I was glad she was OK but she didn't really answer my question. I decided to let it rest for a second, not willing to break our peace, and ask a few of my other burning questions instead: "You're working for the feds. Why you? Did they ask you before or after you didn't get your promotion?" Kate's look went back down to her feet and she sighed and shrugged. It started to irritate me that with every question I asked I got that reaction at first followed by a short answer while it had been Kate to invite me to have a talk. Short answers weren't what I considered a real _talk_. "Oh come on Kate," I sneered. "Just give me an answer or tell me to piss off and go to hell. If you don't want to talk then just say so," I continued angrily, forgetting I had wanted to keep the peace just a minute ago.

Kate duck while I sighed. This was not working at all. Why did I keep yelling at her and making this discussion much harder than needed. Kate probably hadn't expected anything like that but then she veered back up and touched my upper arm. "I _do_ want to talk and I'll try to answer all your questions as best as I can but I don't know _what_ I can tell you and _how much_," she answered. I wasn't satisfied yet but it was a start. At least she didn't run away again. "The feds asked for assistance and they wanted me," she answered one of my questions. Kate waited a second and took a deep breath before she continued. "I don't know why they wanted me but I was available at that time. I agreed to help them because it all seemed so easy. I had to take out some criminals on this boat, we would come back and then I would report back to the feds," she sighed. "That's what I did last week but when I came back Andrew, he's my contact person, told me one of the criminals liked me, as in-" Kate swallowed and looked me in my eyes, hoping she didn't have to elaborate more about what the guy really wanted. "Andrew took me to hospital to do some tests on me. That's when we heard about you and Andrew used it as an excuse to get me off the Hammersley and get me out on this boat to find out even more," she said.

I exhaled and tried to get rid of my cramped up feeling. "And that's all?" I asked her, still a little bit abrasive. Kate looked at me In surprise. "What do you mean?" she asked. "Those feds," I clarified. "They just want you to help them out? There's nothing more for you to tell me about them?" I asked her. She shrugged and shook her head. "I don't know what you want to hear but there's nothing else. What should there be?" she wondered. I looked at the ceiling and exhaled again. The line I had read in the mail from my friend had clearly said there was an inconsistency and that Kate had a history with the feds. She on the other hand didn't mention it at all. I wanted to say something about it but I didn't. I hadn't read the mail and didn't even know what my friend had been about to tell me. I couldn't drop it all on Kate right now, not until I knew what I was talking about.

I shook my head to get rid of the thought of Kate in trouble either right now or in the past. Besides she was actually really talking so I should make an effort and listen. "I didn't want _this_ to happen," Kate motioned with her hands. "I never wanted to leave you in a cell that long or stay away from you but I agreed to help the feds and I don't want to back off," she admitted. I smiled a little bit at her confession. I shouldn't be so surprised at her answer because that was who she was. Kate wouldn't give up until she got what she wanted. "Can you tell me what those criminals do? Do you know?" I wondered. Kate smiled and nodded. "Yes I know what they're doing. They're bringing in drugs," she answered me. Something in my stomach turned and a worrying feeling started to take over. "Drugs," I almost whispered. "Please be cautious," I told her. I didn't want her to get into trouble. "You're too precious to me," I said.

Kate moved a bit and fumbled with her shirt before she looked up at me. "I don't like it anymore. I mean," she bit her lip and thought before she continued. "When I started it was all so easy but now I've got to lie and you ended up in trouble because of me. I never thought that would happen but I don't know how to get out now. Not without admitting I failed at the task," she sighed. I couldn't stay angry any longer and embraced her, pushing her head on my shoulder. "You're still princess perfect," I joked. "That's what I like about you. You don't give up. Oh Kate," I said while I distanced myself so I could look her in her eyes. "What do you really want? If you want to finish the job I'll try and help you as much as I can but if you want to get out than you should say that out loud and act accordingly. If it's hurting you more then what's the point in doing it?" I asked her.

With a weak smile Kate put her head back on my shoulder. Her arms slipped around my back. "I want to quit but I don't want to give up. Does that make sense?" she asked. I loved to feel her breath in my neck. It tickled a bit but it made me realise she was so worth the wait. I wanted her to quit too but that wasn't something she would do and I knew it. "Do whatever you need to do," I supported. Kate looked at me again and smiled thankfully. "Are we good again?" she asked me and all I could do was nod.

Suddenly I saw a future for us again. Thinking about it alone made me happy. I got off the bed and down on one knee, wanting to see Kate's reaction. "Mike! Wait, stop!" she exclaimed but I had made up my mind and didn't get up. "Kate would you-" I didn't get much further because Kate put her finger on my lips and stopped me from talking. "Don't do this Mike," she said, sounding really scared. "What do you think I'm doing?" I said with a laugh. Kate looked at me worriedly and shook her head. "You're down on one knee! What should I think you're doing?" she asked me. I let out a loud laugh and took her hand in mine to tease her a bit and while she continued to protest I started again: "Kate would you become my _girlfriend_ as soon as this whole thing is over?"

My question stopped her rant and silenced her completely. I got up from my knee and sat down next to her. "You thought I was going to ask you to marry me. What a nice thought but don't you think we would skip a lot in the process if I would start out with _that_ question?" I teased her. She punched me playfully at my chest and let go of some air she had been holding. "You know I wouldn't even mind if you popped the question but not right _here_. Not like _this!_" she said. It surprised me to know she didn't mind having me as her partner. It actually made me even more happy. "How would you like to be asked?" I whispered in her ear. Kate started to giggle and shook her head. "Oh no mister. I'm not going to tell you how to ask me. Just remember I'm a woman and like some romance once in a while," she giggled.

My mind wondered off to the day I would get her to a candle light dinner for two when I would finally ask her to become my wife. "Earth to Mike Flynn," Kate laughed while she waved her hand in front of my face. "Let's take one step at the time," she suggested more seriously. "I'm sure I'm going to get my promotion and as soon as that's finalised you'll return to Navcom, I'll take over command of Hammersley and then my answer to your question will be yes. I'll be your girlfriend," she answered me.

It didn't matter anymore we didn't know how long it was going to take before it would all happen because the most important thing was that we would be together no matter what. "You're an amazing woman Kate McGregor," I said before I kissed her. "You're not bad yourself Mike Flynn," she replied and kissed me. I pulled her with me in a fall back onto the mattress and caressed her back while we leisurely laid there. "How's your head?" I wondered, suddenly remembering she had looked not her best a few hours ago. "Better," she replied honestly. "A lot better now," she added. I kissed the top of her head and enjoyed the time together with her. "You'll be back at work on Monday. Please tell Maxine you'll come with me on patrol," I said. Kate got up on her elbow and looked at me. "Monday?" she asked while she gave me a quizzical look. "Out on patrol?" she almost whispered. "That would be wonderful. Don't worry I'll make sure Maxine will send me out on patrol with you," she stated. "No one will stop me!" she added. I was glad. Things finally started to normalise again.


	15. XV Andrew

**Andrew**

I walked into my office with a stack of papers under my arm, my mobile in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. It was Monday morning but I wished the weekend would come around again soon. I had been working all weekend on all the information I had gathered from various sources together it looked really good. Good as in we were finally getting somewhere but at the same time it worried me too. Kate McGregor was getting in deeper than we had originally intended and we had come to a point were it was almost impossible to keep up the double life she was living, just like I have to do. I occasionally talk to the druggies but it's not on the same level as Kate does. It was time to get her away from her navy life for a while and let her go undercover completely. On Saturday I had arranged everything from talking to a real estate agent to getting her a new car and drivers license. The only, major, problem was that Kate was out of contact. She didn't reply to mails or pick up her phone.

I dumped the papers on my desk and took a sip from my coffee before I placed it somewhere on my paper covered workplace. I put my mobile back into a pocket of my jacket and sat down behind my laptop. There was still a lot of information to be sorted.

I had been battling through some paperwork for about half an hour when there was a knock on my door. I looked up and saw Oscar Mitchell coming in. "I didn't expect you here," he said a bit confused. I shrugged, not knowing where he had expected me to be other than at work. "I thought you would be looking for Kate McGregor," he explained while he leaned against the closet. I shrugged again but this time more in despair. "She's not at home, not at the boat and the boat is still in the harbour. She took it out on Friday, came back on Saturday and since then nothing," I summarised. Oscar growled. "Shit. I think she's back at work," he yelled. "Oh crap," he sighed. "Commander White must have reached her and forced her back at work. Shit," he exclaimed again. "This is not what we need. Can you call Doug and find out what he knows? In the meantime I'll call that bitch at Navcom and figure out how long Kate's going to be away or at least try and get her back," he ordered. I nodded and was about to get my mobile out to make the call when Oscar turned around and said: "I'll get Brian. Now we're all here we might as well put all our info together and decide how to continue. Half an hour OK for you?"

While I waited for Doug to pick up his phone I had to admit I didn't mind it so much that Kate was out on patrol. At least she was safe for as long as she was away. I knew Oscar and Brian wanted this job over and done with as soon as possible but it all had gone so fast since last week. If I knew back then what I knew now I would never have pressed Kate as much as I had done. Doug was very manipulative and Kate not very experienced in undercover operations. I wanted to get the job done but didn't want to sacrifice her life in the process.

The phone rang another time before I heard Doug's sleepy voice. "Oh I'm sorry mate," I apologised, realising I must have woken him up. "It's Andrew here. I heard you had some good times with Kate last week," I continued as casual as I could. "Yeah. She's great," Doug replied. I could hear the enthusiasm in his voice and tried to picture him sitting somewhere fantasising about the pretty blonde lady. "Hey, I've got this business friend visiting me tomorrow and I thought it would be great to take him out on a boat. I tried to contact Kate but she's not at home. Do you know where she is?" I asked him. I hoped Doug wouldn't think it strange for me to ask _him_ this question and too late I realised it _was _a strange question coming from me. I silently cursed myself for doing this before I continued: "I think you made an impression on her. I talked to her on Tuesday and she mentioned you a few times during the conversation," I tried to sweet talk him.

I was on dangerous grounds now since I had no idea how Kate had reacted to Doug _after_ I had talked to her on Tuesday but I had to do _something_. "You really think so?" Doug asked me like he had turned into this teenage boy wanting confirmation from his best friend. "Well," I said. "I don't know exactly what she feels but she did mention you a couple of times." Doug laughed and was glad with my answer. "So?" I asked him, trying to go back to my original question. "Do you know where she is?" I heard Doug sigh before he murmured something indefinable. "Sorry?" I asked. "I think you've got to get a ticket and get in line. I'm first," he answered with some sort of a laugh. "I had asked if she was available this week and she was going to let me know but when I went to the harbour on Saturday there was this guy on her boat. I talked to her on the phone yesterday and she said he was another client. They're away for a week, maybe two," he answered disappointedly.

_Another guy?_ My mind was racing to figure out who he was talking about. The one to two weeks made sense since that would be the time she was away on patrol but who was that guy? "Oh," I sighed. "I think I need to find someone else with a boat," I acted disappointed. "Yeah. I just hope that guy doesn't make a too good impression," Doug joked. "I wanted to take her out this week and I don't need any competition," he added. I smiled. "Whoever he is I'll bet he doesn't have a chance. Well, good luck and let me know when there's progression in your relationship with her," I said before I said goodbye and hung up the phone. It was just in time before Brian Wilson walked in with his laptop and a worried looking expression on his face. "We need to find Kate McGregor and fast," he stated.

While I stacked all my paperwork to make some room on my desk Oscar came back in with thunder written all on his face. "Out on patrol," was his short statement. It said a lot. Without Kate we wouldn't get as much information in the upcoming week and everything pointed to a big drug deal in the next week or two. "How long?" I asked. Oscar threw down his folder on my desk, which he had brought along, and cringed. "At least a week. Maxine White told me she can't get them back without blowing our cover. I tried to explain to her that we all mean business and that this is not what we had agreed to. She told _me_ Kate had told _her_ that _we_ had told her it was OK to go on patrol," he said most irritated.

So Kate had wanted to go on patrol in the first place. "What is she hiding from us?" I wondered out loud. Oscar and Brian looked at me simultaneously with a quizzical look. "Who? Maxine or Kate?" Brian asked. "Kate," I answered. "She told some rubbish to the Commander. Why would she do that if she hasn't something to hide?" I tried to explain. Brian nodded but Oscar kept giving me a quizzical look. "What has she told you so far?" he asked me. I grabbed a file from my desk and opened it. "They went out last Wednesday, came back on Thursday. Doug and Al were on the boat and _Frank_. She couldn't give us a surname but by her description it most likely is Frank Silverton. He's got charges on possess and dealing drugs besides assault, false imprisonment and rape," I stated the facts.

"Nice character," Brian said sarcastically. "Anything else Kate told us?" he asked. I looked at my notes and the printed out version of the mail I had received from Kate on Friday. "Well we know they talked about a guy who was going to be killed and by now we know they were talking about Anton Gorski. He was found dead in his cell on Friday morning. We have a few suspects who killed him but it looks like a professional hit. He was the leader of the drug syndicate we're trying to break and someone else took over. We don't know who that person is yet," I said before I looked around to see if there was anyone who wanted to comment. "On Thursday Kate came back and saw the guys bringing an extra bag to shore. She doesn't know what's in it because she had been asleep," I said, knowing at least Oscar was going to comment right now. "Asleep!" he exclaimed as expected. "Amateur!" he continued, hopefully talking about Kate. "She told me they had given her a sleeping pill. When she woke up they weren't at the same spot anymore. She doesn't know where they had gone to. I asked Brian to bring the footage so we can check her story," I tried to overpower his voice.

While Brian said he had brought the said footage I continued: "On Thursday night Doug took Kate out to a party at the house of a guy called Rooster. She only had an address for me and I haven't had time yet to check it out so I'll come back to that later. She spent the night at Doug's place and came back on Friday, took the boat out for a spin and came back on Saturday. Doug just told me she was with a man but he doesn't know who the guy is. Doug thinks he's a client because Kate told Doug she was taking the man out for at least a week. From this information I gather she had planned to go back to work at that time which is even before she went to see Commander White," I finished.

Brian opened his laptop while Oscar moved closer to get a good view on what Brian was going to show us. "Maybe the footage will show us what she's trying to hide from us," Brian said hopefully. I agreed and walked around my desk to also get a good view. "Does she know there are camera's on the boat?" Oscar asked. Brian shook his head. "We installed them on the way back to port after the boat was stolen and never got to tell her. It's best if she doesn't know so she can never accidentally tell anyone about it," he explained. "Good," Oscar said. "So let us see what happened on Wednesday night. Did she get a sleeping pill or not?" he added.

Brian searched through the footage and smiled when he found the right moment. "There it is. She was right. Doug did put a pill in her drink. Look!" Brian stated while he pointed at the image of a man putting a pill in a glass of wine. "They're talking," I said. "Can't we get an audio on this?" Brian shrugged and checked some settings on his laptop. "There should be sound to it. It worked when we checked it last week," he answered. He tried a couple of things but whatever he changed we didn't get sound to the video. "We need to get on that boat and fix it," Brian finally said. He looked at me and asked: "Do you have a key of the boat or do we have to wait until Kate is back?" I sighed. I didn't have a key and if we had to ask Kate it would mean we had to tell her about the camera's. "I gather you don't have a key," Oscar grunted. "But whatever we do we need to get that boat away from the harbour. What if Doug comes around and finds out the boat is back. Brian can you talk to the harbour master and get the boat out?" he asked my colleague.

I hadn't thought about Doug and the possibility he could come checking so it was a good solution to move the boat and at the same time check all the little bugs we had placed. "Can we check who was with her on the boat on Saturday?" I asked. Oscar looked pleased with my thinking and even produced a smile. Brian skipped through all the camera's and found what we were looking for. "That's Mike Flynn!" I said when I recognised the man who was talking to Kate down at one of the bedrooms. "Just wonderful about the missing sound. What is she talking about?" Oscar sneered. I had a feeling it was the thing she wanted to hide from us and now I hated it that we couldn't hear whatever she told the guy.

"Well, whatever she told him he's not happy and she's not happy. Look, they're fighting like a married couple," Brian joked. I was lost for words. _That_ was what she was hiding. "They're lovers!" I stated. "And they're not supposed to be lovers in the navy. I mean they're serving on the same ship. They're not allowed to be in a relationship while serving together. She isn't hiding something from _us_. She's hiding something from Commander White!" I called out exhilarated. Brian had continued watching and put his hand in front of his mouth. "_This_ is something they don't want to get out for sure," he said. Oscar and I looked at the screen and saw how Mike Flynn went down on one knee before we looked at each other. "Typical," Brian joked a little later. He had kept watching the screen. "The first thing you do after being asked is to get physical. Look at them! Wow," he added hungrily. I looked back at the screen with wide eyes. "Brian. Stop the recording," I said feeling embarrassed but at the same time I couldn't keep my eyes off the screen myself. Kate and Mike were shedding their clothes in record time while they never really stopped touching each other. "She's gorgeous," was all Brian said. Oscar looked at the screen as well. "She's got small ti-" he started to comment but stopped midsentence when we saw Mike thrust himself into Kate. "OK, enough," Oscar said while he closed the laptop. He looked at me and said: "Get her back. Use _this_ if you have to." He pointed at the laptop and I knew getting Kate to do whatever we wanted wasn't going to be a problem anymore.


	16. XVI Dutchy

**Dutchy**

Sometimes being in the navy is a big disadvantage. You got to see people battling to survive out at sea by fishing just to make enough money to feed your family and then, then you come across a huge warship who decides you're on the wrong side of the line. Today it was even worse because we not only arrested the fishermen but had to sink their boat. It was in no condition to be towed back to port. _These_ are the moments I hate because back at home they only hear the positive side; we took out another illegal fishing vessel. That there's one more family starving or that the livelihood of a man is destroyed is something they don't want to hear.

I put away my boarding gear and went down to my cabin to freshen up. I smelled like rotting trochus and couldn't stand my own odour. The quick shower which was nice and refreshing made me feel reborn. I put my watch back on and saw I was due on the bridge in five minutes. There was no time to relax today so I closed my cabin door and moved towards the bridge. Behind me I heard footsteps which came along with a nice smell. "X," I said while I turned around to confirm my thought. She must have had the same idea and had taken a quick shower herself. "Dutchy," she replied, thinking I wanted to say something which I actually didn't. Now I had to come up with something to not look like a complete fool. "Are you on watch with me?" I asked. She nodded and looked at her watch. "Starting in two minutes," she said.

We had reached the stairs up to the bridge. There she suddenly stopped and turned around. I didn't see it coming and bumped into her. "Oh, sorry," we both said to each other which ended up in a laughter. "I wanted to get a brew before I'm due. You want one too?" she asked me. Before I could answer we heard the CO at the top of the stairs. "X. I need you to come up," he ordered her. I didn't have the need for a brew right now and decided to follow her. "What is it?" the X asked when she walked over to the consol and quickly checked the instruments.

I myself went to check the EOD and saw there was no boat in the vicinity. Hopefully our watch was going to be calm and maybe even a bit boring. "I just got a call from Commander White," the CO said. I turned around to see if he was still talking to the X or that he meant it as a general comment for everyone to hear. Commander Flynn saw me and quickly nodded to let me know it was OK to listen as well. "The feds have informed Commander White that Anton Gorski has been killed," he said. "She wanted us to know because of our interest in him," he added. Mike Flynn was actually sounding a bit pitied with this news. The man who had saved his life was now dead himself. I looked at Kate. She had almost killed the man not too long ago. Now she knew Anton Gorski was the man who saved Mike Flynn but she initially thought he was responsible for his death. I thought Kate would show some pity as well but she showed _nothing._

"He was killed in his cell, probably by people from his own drug business. You can understand I'm relieved he can't touch us _or me_ anymore although no one deserves to be killed," the CO continued while I watched Kate's reaction. She nodded but it almost seemed as if she wasn't surprised by this news. As if she already knew. The two reactions were so different. Mike was relieved and honest, showing his fright while Kate simply shrugged and continued working as if she only had heard news about something insignificant. Mike noticed it too and got up from the captain's chair. "X, a word in my cabin. Dutchy has the ship," he ordered. "I have the ship," I replied while moving into the captain's chair.

I wished I could be a fly on the wall in the CO's cabin right now. Unless Kate would mention anything it would always stay confidential whatever they said to each other there and I really wanted to know. Would he question her about her reaction or was his request about a totally different matter? There was something going on between Mike and Kate and I couldn't figure out what it was. When she had found him on Gorski's boat they had kissed. Back then I put it down to them being really exciting about finding each other _alive_. Although the rest of the crew didn't kiss him we all hugged and touched him when he came back on the Hammersley. The weeks that followed there was nothing to detect between the two senior officers. All went back to normal and everyone was professional.

The first time I really suspected anything was when Kate didn't get her promotion to Lieutenant Commander. Suddenly Mike Flynn hated being on the same ship as her. They must have had some contact outside the Hammersley but they had managed to keep it professional until the day I heard them arguing in the senior officer's mess. Mike had proclaimed his love for her and had said something about wanting to be together and hating it they had to wait.

"Here's a coffee," Kate said while she handed me a mug. I must have been really deep in thought because I hadn't heard her come back. "Thanks," I muttered. She smiled at me and looked at the radar for a second. "Anything to report?" she asked. "No," I answered, hoping I hadn't missed something important. I would have noticed if something was going on, I told myself. "I have the ship," Kate said. We started concentrating on our own work for a while without talking. Once in a while I glimpsed her way. If there was something going on between her and Mike I couldn't blame her. She was smart, efficient and a hard worker. Not to mention good looking. Mike hadn't liked it one bit when we got Lieutenant Wildebeast last week instead of Kate and I couldn't blame him. Lieutenant Wildebeast was efficient in her work but didn't have the same charisma as Kate.

"Were you sick last week?" I asked her, realising I didn't know why she had missed being crash sailed. Kate turned to me and shrugged. "Sick?" she asked. "Who told you that?" I came closer to her and shook my head. "Nobody told me that. I was just curious why Lieutenant McGregor would miss a day at sea," I teased her. She relaxed and smiled. "We did have shore leave and I wasn't at home that day. Nothing special," she answered.

I couldn't figure out if she was telling the truth. Everyone had shore leave and we all showed up that day and when she returned on Monday she had looked a mixture of happy and still a bit under the weather. "So you enjoyed your shore leave, X?" I asked her. She shrugged and replied: "It was OK." It was clear she wasn't going to elaborate any further so I decided to start another topic. "Some of the junior sailors are surprised you came back to the Hammersley," I said. Kate gave me a surprised look and put her work down to fully concentrate on our conversation. "Why?" she asked defensively. "Because the CO broke into your house and-" I started but she stopped me. "That's none of their business. They don't know what happened," she said aggressively. I put my hands up in defence and smiled. "I know X. It is none of our business but because we don't know the full story we all are a bit surprised," I explained.

Kate sighed and pulled her hand through her hair. "You too?" she asked. "Are you surprised?" I opened a folder and quickly took a peek at its contents. "If you would break into my place I don't think I would want to serve with you on the same boat. Whatever your explanation would be," I answered. This created a frown on her face. "He shouldn't have done it but he explained to me why he did it and I believe him. If I had a very good explanation to break into your house I hope you'll give me the chance to explain as well," she stated. I smiled. "Well, you're warned. Don't break into my place," I informed her. She laughed and opened a folder as well. "It's noted," she joked.

Our watch was as boring as it could be. The only exciting thing that happened was when Mike came to take over from Kate. They thought I didn't see it but the subtle exchanges and little smiles were a dead giveaway there was something blossoming. When I was finally back at my rack I couldn't stop thinking about it. Bomber had to leave the Hammersley because of her relationship with 2Dads and now Mike and Kate were in about the same situation. I had seen them kiss, heard them talk about a relationship and loving each other. She had very quickly forgiven him after a criminal offence and not even a week later they smiled, eyed and touched each other as if they couldn't wait much longer. I didn't want to ruin their careers but it wasn't fair towards all the people who were forced to resign or post off for doing the same thing.

I couldn't sleep and decided to get some fresh air. Maybe the night sky could give me an answer or at least let me figure out what to do. I leaned against the metal bars when I heard the door open and close. I wanted to let the person know I was outside as well until I heard the laughing voice of Kate. "Yes I'm outside," she said in a happy voice. "And no. Nobody can hear me," she added. I decided to not make my presence known and stay in the dark until I could figure out a way to get back inside without her knowing I was out. "I miss you too," I heard Kate say. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that. My boss made me do it," she said jokingly. I didn't want to listen in on her conversation but I couldn't deny I was a bit intrigued by what she was saying. "When I'm back in port I'm definitely going out with you," she said.

She was talking to Mike Flynn? They had found a new way of talking to each other without attracting suspicion? I hadn't thought they had the nerve to do that! "Oh that sounds good," she said joyfully followed by an outburst of laughter. "I do have enough sexy dresses of my own. Why do you keep telling me I need a new dress?" she wondered. "No, we're not going shopping together because the only thing you want to do is peek while I'm changing," she joked. I was shocked by now. Only this afternoon I had thought Mike and Kate to be professional and not bring whatever they had onto the ship but this was unacceptable. "I'll call you soon. I promise," Kate sounded a bit more serious now. "OK so I'll call you and you'll arrange something special for me. I think that's a good deal. I have to go now but I'm thinking about you," she said sounding like a teenager in love. Kate hung up and went back inside while I leaned against the ship. After hearing this there was no other choice for me than to report this to Commander White.

The next morning I still felt distressed about it. I went down to the galley to get some cereal while I thought about what I should do. Bird didn't notice my inner turmoil and chatted happily to me while she got me my breakfast. "Have you seen the CO?" I asked, totally ignoring whatever question she asked me. She nodded and pointed to the senior sailor's mess. "He's in there having breakfast with the X," she answered me. She placed my bowl in front of me on the counter but I pushed it back to her. "Could you hold on to that? I need to talk to them for a second," I asked.

With lead in my shoes I turned around and knocked on the door. "Come in," I heard Mike say. I walked in and closed the door behind me. They were sitting next to each other and I guessed that just before I had entered the distance had been even less than what it was now. "How can we help you Dutchy?" Mike asked not knowing what was going to happen. I cleared my throat and focused on a spot behind them. "I'm informing you that on our return to port I'm going to inform Commander White of what I've observed," I stated, feeling my heart pounding in my chest. "I don't want to ruin your careers but I can't turn a blind eye to your relationship, not after Bomber and 2Dads," I continued hinting at what happened to their relationship.

I wanted to run away and make sure I wouldn't be in the same room as Mike or Kate but that was impossible and it was better to get their reactions right now instead of later on. "Our relationship?" Kate stumbled. "Please, Dutchy, sit down," she said a bit panicked. I did what I was told and looked at her. "I don't know what you saw but there is no relationship," she said, trying to hide the shock in her voice. "You know it's an offence to start rumours," Mike butted in. I looked at him and nodded. "I know that," I snapped. "but I'm not stupid. I see that there's more than a professional relationship. You've tried to keep it off the boat, I know that," I admitted. "But I overheard your conversation on the phone last night," I looked at Kate. "You can't tell me there's nothing going on when you say things like 'I miss you' or 'when I'm back at port I'm going out with you'. You thought no one would find out but I did and I can't ignore it," I told them both. Before they could talk me around I stood up and walked out of the mess. There was no turning back anymore. I _had_ to go and talk to Commander White on our return and I dreaded it already.


	17. XVII Kate

**Kate**

The iron was hot and ready to be used. I draped my shirt on the ironing board and started the chore. I had done it so many times but never with this much resentment. After all it could very well be the last time I ever had to iron a white navy uniform. After we returned home Dutchy had already left the boat and Mike and I knew both he was on his way to Maxine. About forty-five minutes later the dreaded phone call came through with the order for us to show up in her office.

Mike and I had not brought our relationship on board, at least not as far as we knew. I didn't know what he had seen or heard to think otherwise. The phone call he had described wasn't one from Mike. Doug had called me but for Dutchy to think it had been Mike he must have already had his suspicions. The trouble was that Mike and I _were_ in some sort of a relationship and we loved each other so Dutchy wasn't even that far from the truth.

After I ironed my shirt and trousers I went into the little bathroom to fix my hair which, for some stupid reason, just didn't seem to work today. To make everything worse I heard a knock on my door and knew it could only be Mike. "Are you done?" I heard him ask. I pulled my hair out of the half finished bun and opened the bathroom door. "No!" I cried. "Can I help you with anything?" he asked me instead. I shrugged and pulled my hair back another time to fix it up. "Pack my belongings. I'm sure I'm history," I said. I put a pin in my hair to secure the bun and looked at him. "How do I look?" I asked him a bit insecure. He checked my back and put his hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry. You'll see it will all work out fine," he tried to calm me.

I passed Mike and started to get my stuff together while he put the ironing board back up against the wall. "I wished I had your faith but it was nice serving under you," I said sarcastically. He put his hands on my shoulders and squeezed them reassuringly. "Don't do that," I said annoyed. "I just ironed my uniform." Mike stepped away from me and walked out of my cabin. "We haven't done anything wrong so there's nothing to worry about," he said one final time. I shrugged and followed him, closing my cabin door behind me. "You forgot about last weekend?" I asked. Knowing there was nobody on board to hear our conversation anyway. "What weekend?" he teased. It was what we had agreed. We would deny it had ever happened if anyone ever mentioned it. We walked from the Hammersley towards Navcom and with every step I came closer I knew something was going to change but Mike walked as if he was going on an outing or visiting his best friend. I really wished I had his confidence.

Maxine was waiting for us in her office and ordered me to close the door behind me. "Maxine," Mike started sociably. "I trust you know why you are here," Maxine started, ignoring his friendly tone. I nodded while I walked up to Maxine's desk and stood next to Mike. "I have to ask. is there a sexual relationship going on between you?" she asked not waiting for us to adjust to her official tone of voice. I was shocked and looked at Mike to see if he was going to mention our secret weekend on the boat or not. No one could know about that and if we didn't mention it ourselves then there was no way anyone could hold it against us. Mike didn't look at me though but opened his mouth in shock. "I gather from this silence that there is," Maxine concluded. "No," I shouted. "We've done nothing wrong," I started to explain.

Maxine looked at me in surprise before she picked up a piece of paper from her desk. "You want to say that Petty Officer Mulholland was mistaken when he overheard your conversation. Let me read this to you," she said while she waved the paper in front of us before she took it in front of her face to read out what Dutchy had told her. "I saw Commander Flynn and Lieutenant McGregor kiss on Gorski's boat. Everyone on Hammersley was happy to know he was still alive but the kiss I observed was something more than a peck on the cheek," she spat at me. I cringed. I never knew anyone had seen that little moment. "He continues here," Maxine said sternly while she continued reading the statement. "On the Hammersley I've heard Commander Flynn proclaim his love for Lieutenant McGregor. He stated that he wanted to be together and found it frustrating to have to wait," Maxine said before she looked at Mike. "That proofs we didn't do anything wrong!" Mike almost yelled. "Oh come on Mike," Maxine yelled back irritated. "She's your subordinate. You should know better than to have such conversations while at work," she spat at him.

So far Maxine's rant was mainly focused on Mike but she turned to me and gave me a foul look. "You're just as responsible for this. You're a senior officer and should give the right example to everyone on board," she said. I could only nod and agree with her but Mike wasn't convinced yet. "He said it himself Maxine," he threw back at her. "He overheard a conversation in which we basically told each other to respect the rules and wait." Maxine wasn't impressed and pointed at the piece of paper again. "You thought that was the only thing he told me?" she asked us, or basically mainly Mike. "He saw you two share private moments, noticed how you were wiry while out on patrol with Lieutenant Wildebeast, he thought it strange for you two to be so amicable after you broke into her house and he overheard your phone call," Maxine looked at Mike first before her gaze stopped at me.

"It still doesn't proof anything," Mike kept arguing. Maxine exhaled irritated and sat down on her chair. "You're lucky Petty Officer Mulholland respects you both so much and hasn't talked to anyone about this. It's true that all the little things don't mean you crossed the line but it sure leaves a wrong impression to people _less_ understandable," she said. I could see her point but wondered where this was going to leave us. "What's going to happen now?" I asked. Maxine sighed as if the solution was obvious or as if she had already told it a few times and had to repeat it yet another time. "Well, one of you has to post off," she said. "I will," Mike quickly interrupted. Maxine's jaw dropped and her eyes widened. "I was supposed to be back here at Navcom a long time ago anyway. Kate can be acting-CO for the time being," he explained his thinking.

Maxine just stared in total amazement and then started shaking her head. "Are you serious?" she muttered. "What kind of impression is that going to give when all it takes is to shag your XO to get the position you want? People are going to argue that Kate only got the position of CO because she's with you. Ah ah. That's not what's going to happen," Maxine said while my jaw had dropped to the floor as well. "We didn't _shag_ each other," I protested but while I said it I knew Maxine didn't believe me. "Not when we were both posted on the same ship," I added. Maxine was surprised by my revelation and stared at me. "Keep digging," she almost ordered. "What else do you two need to tell me?"

I gave Mike an apologetic look before I turned my gaze at Maxine again. "It's over a year ago. Mike was posted here at Navcom while I was on the Hammersley. We ended our relationship, or at least put it on hold when Mike was posted back. Like Mike said, we didn't do anything wrong," I defended us. Maxine eased a bit and took another piece of paper in her hands. "Knowing you both I believe you," she said. "but if this rumour ever gets out it's the end of your careers. Whatever you're saying I've made up my mind and you," Maxine looked at me. "Are off Hammersley until your promotion comes through and you're ready to become her CO."

I didn't know if I liked this news or if I should have expected this in the first place but Mike kept protesting. "When _is_ she going to get her promotion? If Kate's off who's going to be my XO?" he asked. "I can't say _when_," Maxine answered the first question and I knew she was right. We didn't know when my job for the feds was done so she couldn't give him a date although I was going to make sure it wouldn't be months before I was finished. First my job in the navy kept me apart from the man I love and now my job for the feds was doing the same. Why had I agreed?

"Lieutenant Wildebeast will be your XO," Maxine continued. "She'll be the future XO when Kate takes over command. You will show Lieutenant Wildebeast the ropes and make her ready for her new CO," Maxine instructed. Mike started to realise it was futile to argue any longer and sighed in defeat. "What will I do in the meantime?" I asked. Maxine looked at me and put the paper down she was still holding. "I'll find something useful for you to do, don't you worry," she said. Whatever it was I wasn't going to like it. We were dismissed and Mike started to move out of the office when Maxine suddenly said: "Stay away from each other for a while. I mean it."

I had barely said anything but inside I was raging. It was all so unfair and wrong and I was the only one who could actively change anything about the situation. "Mike, you go back to the Hammersley. I'll catch you back at the ship. I need to do something first," I said. Mike nodded and continued to walk back to the Hammersley while I went back into Maxine's office. "Kate," she said when she saw me. "I'm going to quit this thing with the feds. This was not what I agreed to do and when it leads me to problems more than that I solve anything it's not worth it anymore. I'll call Andrew and tell him. I guess you've got to let me do something here at Navcom for a while but I want my stripe. For goodness sake I already have it!"


	18. XVIII Andrew

**Andrew**

My instructions were clear. I needed to get Kate McGregor away from that stupid navy boat. For the past few days we had watched the harbour meticulously. This morning we got the news about the Hammersley returning so this was my chance. I couldn't get close to the ships but I had parked my car near Navcom and decided to wait outside. Not long after I saw Mike Flynn come out of the building. With large steps he walked back towards the boats without even noticing I was there. I followed him with my gaze until I saw something blonde pass me. I quickly followed her and grabbed her arm. "Kate," I said. She turned around before she slapped me in my face and broke free. "I'm sorry," I said while touching my cheek.

Kate started to walk away and all I could do was follow her. "Kate, please. I need to talk to you," I said. She quickly stopped and turned around to face me. "I need to talk to you too but I'm working as you can see. When I'm done I'll come to the Shark Tooth Bar," she stated. I made a little sprint and stopped in front of her. "Wrong," I said. "You're coming with me." She tried to bypass me but every time I stepped in front of her until she stopped. "I'm not coming with you," she said. I shook my head to make clear I wasn't playing a game. "You lied to us Kate. You can be crash sailed in the next hour so you're coming with me and we'll talk. Now," I ordered her.

She looked at her watch and shrugged. "I'll give you ten minutes," she said. I agreed as long as she was coming along and started guiding her to my car. Reluctantly she got in and I started the engine. "Where are you taking me this time?" she asked suspiciously. I sniggered. "Do you have anything to hide?" I asked. "We'll go to the beach. You'll be back here very quickly whenever they need you," I said. Technically that would be right but she didn't have to know yet she wasn't going away on a navy ship today.

"Did you have a nice week?" I asked to pass the time in the car. Kate didn't answer and looked outside and kept doing that until I parked the car. "We're here," I said looking around at an almost empty car park near the beach. "Good," she said sarcastically before she got out. "So where do you want to go?" she asked me. I pointed at the empty beach and started walking that way. When we were far away enough from the car park I stopped and pointed at a dune. "Can we sit down?" I asked. She looked at her white uniform for a second but then sat down next to me. "I'm sorry I lied," she said in a tone which wasn't very remorseful. "I told Commander White you didn't need me the past week but I'm a navy officer and I want to do my job," she started to come up with arguments. "That's what I do and if there was time to spare I would help you out. That was the deal," she said.

It didn't hit me at first she was talking in the past tense but then she took a deep breath and said: "I'm not going to help out anymore. I can't do it any longer." I touched my jacket before I took a deep breath myself. "You can't stop now Kate," I said. "I'm sorry if we haven't been appreciative enough because we really are but we need you," I said hoping her involvement was still up for discussion. "I'm serious," was her only reply. "Was that what you wanted to talk to me about?" she asked while she got up and started to walk away. "because this is what I wanted to tell you," she said matter of factly. "Kate," I hastily shouted. "Wait. Please hear me out." Kate stopped and turned around to look at me. For a second she just stood there but then she came back and sat down. "Whatever you're going to say it's not going to work. You talked me around once before and it let to a good friend being in trouble. It let to trouble between us. I don't want that. Besides," she sighed. "That whole thing with Doug is getting uncomfortable," she admitted.

The trouble with her _friend_ had been resolved already. She decided not to mention that and I couldn't refer to it without blowing my cover. I wanted to wait as long as possible before I was going to use the information we had of what happened on the boat between her and Mike Flynn. "Look," I started to explain. "I understand it is uncomfortable," I said. Kate looked at me in disbelief and shook her head. "I don't think you do," she retorted. "Oh but I do. I've been in your situation a couple of times so I know what it feels like but with the information you've given us in this short time period we've been able to put a lot of different dots together. You see, without you we never would have found out where the drugs went to. That party you attended with Doug. It was held at the house of a major drug supplier. We knew he was dealing drugs but hadn't been able to link him to this organisation. Because of you we could. In the past week we have made several arrests which led to even more knowledge," I told her.

This information hit her and she looked seriously impressed. "Doug is in love with you and love makes blind. He doesn't suspect you and because of his love for you he's not as willing to believe you're working for us. If you would quit right now we wouldn't get the information we need. It's not as simple as just replacing you. If you quit you set us back miles and miles," I clarified. Kate was quiet and waited if there was more to come. She was clearly battling the two options she had; quit or continue and I hoped for the last. "Our intel tells us there's going to be a big drug deal in the next week or two but we still need a couple of details. For one we need to know where the drugs comes from," I said. We had some inkling about where it came from. When Brian and I studied the tapes from _the Golden Sunshine_ we discovered that Doug and Al didn't wear any diving gear. They had left the boat to return not much later with a bag, probably picked up from an island. "Since you were asleep you haven't been able to tell us where they went. This past week we have put in a tracker on the boat which means we can follow the coordinates without you having to tell us," I told her. This wasn't something to withhold from her. It could even help her feel a bit more secure.

Kate was digesting all this news but she wasn't totally convinced yet. "We'll make sure you're safe," I told her. Kate finally looked at me and shook her head. "I still can't do it. Doug can be a nice guy but I don't trust him. I don't want to get into his bad books and end up dead. You said love makes blind but Doug isn't stupid. I've got the feeling he has killed before and he talks about it as if it's the most normal thing you do. I don't want to be around him when he finds out I'm working for you," she said. I touched my jacket again and started to think I really had to use the information which was in my pocket. "He won't find out. I'm sure you won't tell him and for the other moments you have to simply remember what I told you about undercover operations," I said, hinting at our briefing in a hotel not too long ago but Kate shook her head and stated: "I'm not going to do it."

For a second time she was about to get up on her feet and I knew it was time to use some force. I took the piece of paper out of my pocket and handed it to her. "What's that?" she asked. "Look at it," I ordered. "You don't want this to end up on Commander White's desk," I warned her while she unfolded the paper. It was a snapshot of the most embarrassing pose of her and Mike Flynn. They were both naked and in full view while doing the deed. Kate's face turned pale and she almost dropped the weightless paper. "You- how-" she stumbled. She opened her mouth a few times but didn't produce a sound. "It's all on tape. There's a copy ready to be send to Navcom," I threatened. "That's blackmail," she yelled. "It's assurance we get the information we need," I corrected her.

She sank down about a meter away from me and it almost looked like she was about to cry. "A tape," she muttered to no one in particular. Then she looked at me. "Did you watch all of it?" she asked me accusingly. "Yes," I admitted although I would never admit to watching it more than once. "We saw how Mike Flynn proposed to you before you started uhm well," I stuttered pointing at the snapshot. "We?" she exclaimed. "Oh god. You had no right to," she started before she looked at me surprised. "But he didn't propose to me," she said a bit confused. "He went down on one knee but he didn't propose," she explained.

I started to laugh and joked: "It was interesting to watch. That part about him going on one knee but something went wrong with the audio so we only had visual that time," I explained. Now she knew that there was a camera I might as well tell her about the rest. "In total there are ten camera's placed on the boat. We've checked them now and tested them a few times to make sure the audio is working too. It's all to keep you safe and to help you. We don't want you to die on us," I said with a reassuring smile. "The thing is," I continued. "To keep you safe we need to get you away from your everyday life. Do you have your car keys here or the keys to your house? You're phone?" I asked. She shook her head. "My keys are on the Hammersley," she answered. "We'll pick them up and you can leave them with me for the time being. Can I have your phone please?" I asked her. She sceptically looked at me and handed me her pink devise. "I've got no choice do I," she said before she looked at the snapshot again knowing I could send the tape if she didn't do what I wanted. "You're not going home tonight. Not to your own house. You'll have a new address, car and name. From now on you're Kate Smith," I said while I handed her an envelope with official papers and a driver's licence.

She took the envelope and looked at her phone. "Please let me call Mike. He knows I'm working for you and if I don't show up he'll start searching for me again. I want to tell him that I need to go away. He needs to hear it from me," she stated. "We'll go to the Hammersley where you can pick up everything. I gather he's still there and if not we'll go by his place I promise," I told her. For a third time she got up and wiped the sand from her uniform. "I'll never agree to helping the feds again," she said. "I'm only doing this because I like my job too much for you to ruin it. It's blackmail and you know it. Let's go and have this part of my life over and done with," she said. I couldn't help but feel a little bit sorry for her but there was no time to think about that now. I got up and followed her back to the car. I hoped she would cheer up before she was going to meet Doug again. Maybe giving her some time with Mike Flynn would do the trick. "We'll go to the Hammersley where you can pick up your stuff. I need to do some stuff of my own so come to the Shark Tooth Bar tonight and then I'll bring you to your new house," I changed the plan just a little bit. She gave me a thankful smile. It was enough for me to have faith that everything would turn out right.


	19. XIX Mike

**Mike**

I had packed my bag and started to wonder what took Kate so long to get back. I didn't know what she was doing but when we parted it hadn't sound as something so time consuming. I looked around in her cabin again and sighed. She had been right and was off the ship. She hadn't said much while we were at Maxine's as if she had generally accepted it all. Although I had to admit if I was in Dutchy's situation I would have done the same. I hated it too because of his accusations Kate had to leave. It just wasn't fair because we hadn't done anything wrong.

I walked into Kate's cabin, hoping to find her there, but she still hadn't returned from Navcom. The cabin wasn't anything special but Kate had managed to make it personal enough for me to feel happy in it. Maxine had ordered us to stay away from each other but why would we? From this moment on we weren't posted on the same ship anymore and we had stayed away from each other long enough.

I heard footsteps coming this way and quickly stood up. A forlorn looking Kate showed up at her cabin and as she walked in I wondered what had happened for her to look this way. She looked at me and I saw the tears in her eyes. "What happened?" was all I could say before I took her in my arms and pressed her against my body. "I've gohw tohw gohw uwhoy," she said while she kept her mouth pressed against my shoulder. I didn't understand _what_ she had sad but she was too distressed to worry about it. What she needed was a loving arm around her. I stroked her back until I noticed she was getting a little bit too comfortable in my embrace. "Let's get your stuff and go home," I suggested which resulted in another sob. Kate wiped her nose with her hand and looked at me in total frustration. "Home," she said sarcastically. I didn't understand why she didn't jump at the chance. OK, packing her stuff meant an end to her stay at the Hammersley but it wasn't for ever, she would be back eventually. It also meant we could start a life together. "You'll be back here in no time," I tried to comfort her. "Yeah," she sighed, not totally believing my words. "Mike. I'm not going home," she almost whispered.

Her answer confused me. We needed to talk but maybe it was best to start that conversation off the boat. "I know Maxine told us to stay away from each other but she can go to-" I paused, _hell_ I thought. Nothing could keep me away from Kate any longer. We weren't posted on the same boat anymore. Kate looked for something to blow her nose but she didn't say anything. "I'll wait for you on the dock, OK?" I asked her. She nodded and started rummaging through her stuff. I looked back from the hallway but Kate didn't even seem to notice me anymore, too far away in thought. With a quick detour past my cabin to pick up my personal belongings I left the Hammersley.

When Kate finally walked off the Hammersley she didn't look much better so I decided to take her with me so we could talk. "Your place or mine?" I asked her. She threw her bag in the boot of her car and shook her head. "I'm not going to my place and we shouldn't go to yours either," she answered. I wanted to say something but she looked at me and sighed before she spoke: "Please Mike. I don't want you to loose your job. Let's not give Maxine a reason to get angry." I sighed as well. "But," I started. "Mike." Kate said pleadingly. She looked at me to make sure I would drop the argument before she continued. "Can we go somewhere where we can talk _without_ anyone hearing us?" she asked me. Of course we could but _where_? "The beach? The park?" I suggested. Kate simply shrugged but didn't give me an answer. "Where ever we can talk in private," she said.

I started to notice Kate was passive and it worried me. She hadn't looked this bad when I had left Navcom so something had happened in between. She had gone back to Maxine but I couldn't come up with anything which Maxine could have said or done to make the situation worse. "It's quiet at the beach," I finally decided. Kate nodded and shrugged. "I know," she almost whispered. We got in our cars and followed each other to an almost empty car park near the beach. Kate didn't wait for me and started walking towards the waterline almost knowing I would follow her anyway. When I had reached her again she turned around and showed her tear stained face. "I have to go away," she sobbed. I looked at her in surprise, wondering where she had to go or why it would make her so sad. "Did Maxine send you away?" I asked trying to get the picture clear. She shook her head and let out a sob.

Kate tried to hold back another sob so she could tell me what was going on. "It's not Maxine. I wanted to quit with the feds but I can't and now I've got to go away," she sighed. She looked me in my eyes. She was almost looking for forgiveness or something similar. "You remember I told you about the drug guy who likes me?" she asked me. I remembered vaguely what she had told me on the boat during our weekend away. "When I started this job it was just to help out the feds but I've been so _successful_," she said mockingly, "that because of me the feds got a lot of information. They want me to continue with this guy so I can find out even more," she said. I nodded. I thought I understood what she was saying. "So, let me get this straight. You help the feds by listening and observing this drug guy. When he tells you anything interesting you report that back to the feds," I summarised whatever I understood so far.

With a nod Kate let me know I was right but then she continued: "I don't want to anymore. I'm scared. Doug. He doesn't know who I really am, _of course_," she added with a laugh. "I got so much information because he's in love with me and I gave him the impression I'm interested but the more I know about the situation the more I'm worried what's going to happen to me if they would find out." I took her in my arms and comforted her. "Like I said before. I'll support you wherever I can but if you want to get out you should do that," I said lovingly. She pushed herself away from me and even walked away a few steps. "I _can't_," she yelled at me. "_You_ can't," she added in the same tone. "Andrew knows about our weekend on the boat. He knows what we did and he knows we weren't supposed to," she yelled while she started to run away.

_Andrew? Who was he again? What did he know? Why is this stopping Kate from deciding to quit?_ I thought and then it hit me. _Shit! They knew about our love making session! Whoever Andrew was it didn't matter. If he was a cop he could use this information to blackmail Kate and if Andrew was the drug guy Kate could be in danger but surely the cops wouldn't send Kate back if that was true? _Kate had walked away a fair bit before I realised I had to start moving to stop her from getting away from me too far. I ran and when I had almost caught up Kate started to slow down. "It's on tape. _Everything_ is on tape," she wailed. Kate stopped and looked at me and from the pocket of her jeans she took a piece of paper and handed it to me. "You see? If I don't do what the feds want my navy career is over. Yours as well. They'll send a tape to Maxine," her voice broke midsentence and it was heart wrenching. I unfolded the paper and saw _us_. "Oh geez," I uttered in shock. "That's blackmail!" I shouted while I folded the piece of paper again, disgusted by the sight of it.

My heart was racing and now I fully understood why Kate was so depressed. "I know it's blackmail but what can I do?" she wondered. "I can't go to the cops," she said as if it was funny but she turned serious right after her quiet laughter. "There are several camera's on the boat. They've installed a tracker so they always know where I am but I've got to go undercover completely," she started to explain the situation. Kate sounded defeated. She had given up! She wasn't even fighting! "No Kate. If it's too dangerous you should quit. We could talk to Maxine. Confess about this weekend. You're off the boat anyway. She's a friend. She won't dob us in! Kate, you should go to the cops. This is not how you treat people!" I ranted while I held up the piece of paper but Kate shrugged and started walking towards the car park again. This time I walked along. "Last week I wanted to finish this job. I was glad I had something to give the feds but not after this weekend. Not after we finally got together and-" she didn't finish her sentence but I could almost guess what she wasn't saying. "Today Andrew told me how well I'm doing and of that I am proud but it made me realise how dangerous it all is. Part of me still wants to finish this job but I want to be sure I'm safe," she told me.

_She still wanted to finish this job? Even now she knew they were blackmailing her?_ "Kate. Are you certain this Andrew guy is going to send this tape to Maxine?" I asked her. Whatever happened I didn't want Maxine to ever see the tape. Kate shrugged. Didn't she care about it? "Let's go to Maxine and tell her," I said seriously. "She'll understand." Kate let her head down and looked at the sand. "And what if Maxine understands and will turn a blind eye this time and then not _she_ but someone else in the navy receives the tape? I'm not willing to risk our careers," she replied. I hadn't thought of that. I looked at her, disgusted. "They can't do that! I'm going to the feds myself and get that tape. If they want to bust some criminals they should do it themselves. They have no right to blackmail you or ruin anyone's career!" I yelled.

Kate looked at me, scared of my reaction, but it didn't stop her. She kept on going towards the cars. I did stop and looked at the snapshot again. "They have it all on tape!" I sighed almost inaudibly. "Kate," I yelled at her. "You can't do this. It's not safe," I said while I raced to her. "Andrew will bring me to my _new_ house tonight to my _new_ life. I'll go undercover completely until they've got enough evidence. I don't like it but I'll have to," she said softly. "When I come out of it I'll demand any copy of the tape and will destroy them myself," she said while she quickly looked me in my eyes. "The good thing is, is that by that time we also did what Maxine told us to do; stay away from each other. I'll get my promotion and take over command of Hammersley. As soon as my job with the feds is done _we_ can be together," she stated trying her best to sound positive.

_She's still going ahead with it _was all I could think of. "There is no way I could talk you around is there?" I asked her. Kate looked at me and shook her head. "I'll focus on the job, do my best and then I get whatever I want to boot. I'll get a promotion, the Hammersley and you. I'll look forward to all of them," she said. We had reached our cars and she quickly looked at her watch. "Let's go out to dinner," she suggested. "I want to remember this day as one that ended happily," she explained. I pulled her towards me and kissed her on her head before I lifted her chin and gave her a more passionate one on her lips. "Will you be away for long?" I asked her. She kissed me back and then put her head against my chest. "A week, maybe two," she answered. I was going to hate the days without her but didn't want to make her feel even worse. Her positive way of looking could work for me as well. "And after two weeks I'm going to get you as a reward for all the waiting," I said softly, planting kisses on her head.

I took her out to dinner and we tried to make the best out of it. At the end of the evening we kissed goodbye and parted. It was hard to see her walk away knowing she would really be out of reach for a while but I had faith in her ability to bring it all to a good end. I had promised her something special for when she came back. I didn't know _what_ but it had to be special just to celebrate we would finally be together. I went home on my own with a good feeling. It was late but I decided to not waste much more time and start planning my special treat for Kate. _Taking her on a trip_ I thought. _Whisk her away on a tropical holiday_. _Just the two of us!_

I liked my own thinking so I opened my laptop to check on internet what kind of holidays were available. I would be away on patrol in the upcoming week so maybe it would be best to order some brochures over the mail. It didn't take me long to get some on China, the Seychelles, Caribbean and Tahiti and after sending the last mail away I ended up looking at my mailbox to see if I had any unanswered mails to read. There was a lovely one from my mother, thanking me for the update I had given her a week ago. I decided to write her a quick one, mostly to make sure I wouldn't get another one from her, demanding an update. There wasn't much I could tell her but she didn't seem to mind, as long as she got to hear _something_ from her loving son. I hit send after which I was automatically redirected to the main page. There I saw the mail from my friend. The one I had never finished reading and the one I had to be _aware_ of. With a chuckle I opened it. Since then I had talked to Kate and I now knew for sure she was working for the feds. Still I decided to read it so I could reply him and thank him for the effort in the first place.

_Dear Mike,_

_First of all I want to stress that the contents of this mail are for your eyes only and that you're not allowed to share this information with anyone else. I trust you._

_It took me a little while to figure out some inconsistencies. I always thought your officers in the navy had to be 'clean'. Kate McGregor is clean __but__ she does seem to have a history with the AFP. I'll explain it while I'll continue this mail._

_When I started a quick research on her name there wasn't anything to be found. It simply means she doesn't have a current police record. That doesn't seem so surprising since high ranked officers are meant to be clean. You did ask though if I could do a thorough research so I dug a bit deeper. I tried to trace her back to her early childhood. You did mention an envelope with an AFP sign on it. It could be as simple that she never had a criminal record but was a witness in a case, or a victim. _

_Did you know she was born in England and moved to Australia together with her mother some odd 20 years ago. They went to live in a small rural Victorian town where Kate took on the surname of her mother. As an 11 and 12 year old she was caught quite a few times stealing, mostly food and liquor. _

_I read all the records still available and it looks like it was more a case of living on the wrong side of the tracks and that the stealing was performed to stay alive. She was never charged but they kept a close watch on her. _

_At 13 and 14 she moved quite a lot and ended up in Melbourne. She seemed to be doing fine until Kate and her mother moved in with a certain Steve Baroni. Kate was now 14 years old and must have seen many police stations from the inside either as a witness to an assault on her mother or because she had information about Baroni. _

_It was a shock to everyone when one day a worried parent from the high school declared Kate was dealing drugs at school. The police had to do a locker search and found an array of 'party pills', cocaine and heroin stashed away. She was arrested for possession and dealing drugs. The charges were reduced to possession of illegal substances since it couldn't be proven she had ever sold anything. It is in her record that the police think Baroni was behind all of this but neither Baroni himself nor Kate has ever admitted to that fact. _

_After those charges I lost track of her. There simply isn't anything else to be found until she showed up at HMAS Cerberus as a young recruit taking on her original surname of McGregor. I gather that from there on everything she did is on file and that you're able to get access to it. _

_So the question remained why she doesn't have a criminal record right now. I think, but I can't be completely sure, they removed the charges since she's been clean. She has never used drugs herself and it is very likely her stepfather Baroni put her up to her crimes. She did get into the navy with good high school grades. It shows she's willing and able to learn and after all she only was a minor when it all happened. _

_It does explain why she still has contacts with the AFP. Drugs is something they take very seriously and I gather she has to proof her innocence up till this day. _

_I hope this mail clears up some of the fog you described in your mail to me and remember that if she really was a criminal she wouldn't have made it this far as an officer. _

_Let me know if I can do anything else and for now stay safe._

_Greetings,_

_Timothy Mash_

I was impressed by the story I read but couldn't help and wonder why Kate had never told me this herself. If she was forced to sell drugs as a young teenager then her past wouldn't be completely her fault and she shouldn't be humiliating or embarrassed about it right now, would she? I could understand she wouldn't tell everybody about this but did Maxine know? Why hadn't Kate ever taken the time to tell me? _Was_ she embarrassed or had she really something to hide.

This mail put my mind to work and I tried to link all the little pieces of information Kate or anyone else had given me. Kate had always been a hard worker, even back at ADFA she wouldn't be happy with an average result. She went for good results and nothing less. She probably had to proof herself twice as hard as anyone else but at the same time she was a very private person and would keep to herself as much as she could. If you would come too close she would block you and stop you from getting any closer. It could be she was hiding something. Kate had learned to lie, cheat, steal and deal at a young age. Had she just gotten better at it?

I tried to get rid of these thoughts. I _knew_ Kate and she was as straight as could be. But still – when she was posted at the Hammersley she made it very clear she didn't like her new posting. She wanted big ships, loved the anonymity – but why? _Stop it Mike. Kate isn't a criminal_. Could it be that she didn't get her promotion because the Brass had finally found out about her past? Kate McGregor didn't seem to have a criminal record but she had used a different name while doing her crimes. Was it possible nobody had ever found out about her double personality?

The more I thought about it, the more I started to see Kate in a different light. Was I falling in her web of lies as well? Had I already fallen into her web? Maybe she had used other means to get where she was right now. _Oh God no! Don't let this be true_, I thought. A very disturbing thought slipped into my mind. She had slept with me while I was her instructor. She had slept with me while I was her CO. The first time, was it to secure a good grade? The second time, was it to secure her position as the CO? Had she ever slept with anyone else to get what she wanted?

Again I shook my head to get rid of these thoughts. "You're making it all sound so disgusting Mike," I berated myself. I couldn't answer if she had ever slept with anyone else but I could answer the question about her and myself. _I_ had slept with her. _I_ had fallen for her. While being her instructor I had never favoured her. She had deserved all the credits on her own merit and not because she was good in bed.

I still believed her knock back had something to do with the feds. I opened a new message in my mail account and started writing down all my questions concerning Kate and the reason why she was still a Lieutenant. Hopefully Commander Marshall could help me out. He knew Kate as well and he was a honest and righteous man. I trusted him as much as I wanted to trust Kate. One more time I looked at my written mail before I hit the send button. Again I had to wait.


	20. XX Doug

**Doug**

Last night I found out Kate is back in town. By pure coincidence we happened to be at the same restaurant. She didn't see me but I saw her. Se was having dinner with the man I had seen her with last week. The jealous sting that went through my body, man, it was like I couldn't breathe anymore. There was the woman, having dinner with another man, looking pretty cosy. I have never been this jealous in my life before! I didn't intend to stay long but I had to make sure he wasn't leaving together with her. I was so relieved when they each went home in a different car. Not long after I had gone home myself and made a phone call to Kate. She sounded tired and frustrated but told me it had nothing to do with me. She was glad to talk to me and even asked me when _we_ were going out together. She hadn't forgotten about me or replaced me by that old, grey, chubby guy in the restaurant.

All night I couldn't sleep. The only thing I could do was think about Kate. I tried to smell her scent on my bed but it had only made me realise it was dirty, smelly and disgusting. In the middle of the night I had sat up in bed, looking around my simple apartment knowing that I could never bring Kate here if I didn't start cleaning up. So, this morning I had called a cleaning company and after a few hours my house looked like it was brand new. I would take Kate out tonight and would bring her back here for hopefully some more fun. I looked at the mattress and sighed. Maybe it was time to get a real bed before she came around. Oh well, the mattress had clean sheets on it and looked pretty good. I sat on the edge and opened the top drawer of the night stand. In it was a full package of condoms. I was ready and hoped Kate would be ready for it too.

While my house was being cleaned I had called Kate to meet her at her boat this afternoon. Oh gosh I was so head over heels in love with her I couldn't hide it any longer. I was glad she was feeling better today and I really hoped she would love my little plan for tonight. Just thinking about it made me smile again. Then, suddenly, my phone started ringing. "Yeah," I answered it. "Doug I need you to get the samples for me as soon as possible," I heard Rooster say. "As soon as possible?" I said hoping I could convince him tomorrow would be soon enough. "That's what I just said. Kate back yet? Have you found out who the jerk was who took her away?" he asked. I sighed. There was no escaping. "She's back. I'm going to see her later today," I answered. A bit irritated I shoved the drawer shut, knowing I could forget about my wonderful plan.

"And the jerk?" Rooster asked a bit teasingly. Of course he knew about my feelings for Kate. He was one of the first to recognise them. One word to Rooster and the _jerk_ would be history. "I don't know who he is. A client. I don't think there's much more although-" I thought back to the dinner last night. "Find out who he is and whatever there is between him and Kate it will be history," Rooster stated. I smiled. "You don't think I could win _if_ there was a competition? If I have to I'll deal with him myself but thanks for the offer," I joked. Rooster laughed with me until he abruptly stopped. "Kate's back. That means you can go and pick up the samples. Ricardo expects you tomorrow morning at the latest. I guess this ruined your night together with Kate so why don't you go out, just the two of you? I can use Al here and Frank is busy downtown at the prison," Rooster suggested. My smile was back on my face. "That'll work," I replied. "Let me make some phone calls and I'll be off. Tomorrow you'll have your samples."

Rooster hung up and I sat still for a moment. Plans could change in a very short time and now I had to pack my bag to get moving and hope Kate would be home or in port. From the top of the wardrobe I got my bag which I filled with some shorts, shirts and of course by package of condoms. When I thought I had everything I called Kate to check where she was. To my surprise she told me I could pick her up from her house from where we would drive to the harbour and take the boat out. I felt like a schoolboy who was going on an outing while I drove to the address Kate had given me. It was a nice bay side house in a nice looking neighbourhood. I hadn't left my car yet or she came walking out with her bag over her shoulder. "You couldn't wait, could you," she teased me. I wanted to embrace her, _kiss her_, but didn't know if she would accept that so I held back a bit and leaned against my car and waited for her to come to me. "Were you scared I was going to leave you behind if you waited a few more hours?" she joked.

All the way to the harbour Kate was joking and talking and laughing but something was different from last time. While I settled in, downstairs at _the Golden Sunshine,_ she steered the boat out of the harbour. When there weren't that many boats around us anymore I decided to go up to the helm and see how she was doing. "Kate," I said while I let my arms slid around her waist. She didn't seem to mind so I left them there and put my chin on her shoulder. "Doug," she replied seductively. "Who was that guy you were with all last week?" I asked her. "Mike?" she asked me in response. I shrugged. I didn't know his name so I didn't know if Mike was the guy I had seen. "The guy you asked about last week?" Kate asked me. "Is that the same guy you had dinner with last night?" I asked her. Kate turned around in shock and she looked at me for a few seconds before she kissed me. "Do I detect a jealous guy on my boat?" she tried to hide her shock but I had seen it.

I let my arms fall down and stepped backwards. "Who is he?" I demanded to know. From her initial shock I knew he had to be someone I shouldn't have seen in the first place. "Doug you're scaring me," Kate said while she closed the gap between us again. "He's a guy who I know for about," she thought for a second. "oh I guess eight or nine years. We've been friends all that time but you don't have to be jealous because he's married. His wife's name is Ursula and she hates the sea. They used to have a boat of their own but he had to sell it. That's why he _hires_ me once in a while," she explained. She was leaning against me and I had to fight the urge to put my arms around her again and cuddle. The explanation was so perfect it had to be true but what would his wife say about them holding hands and giving each other loving looks. What was _I_ suppose to say about that? Wasn't she supposed to be my girlfriend? "It's just that you looked very close last night," I said. Kate started to smile and shook her head. "Someone _is_ jealous. You want me to call Mike and let him explain to you the ins and outs of our _relationship_?" she asked me.

I had no wish to talk to anyone other than Kate. She was right, I _was_ jealous but it still didn't explain why she had looked so shocked. Before I could ask her about it she started walking away. "I'm going to prepare some dinner for us. It's not going to be fancy but it will be edible," she said with a laugh. I looked at all the instruments on the helm and wondered how anyone could steer a boat like this. I didn't understand any of the instruments in front of me. I was glad Kate knew what she was doing.

About half an hour later she called me to have dinner. She had set up a table on deck. When I came down she just dropped a pan on the table. "Dinner is served," she joked. I sat down opposite of Kate and helped myself to the pasta she had fixed. "It's nice," I complimented her after swallowing a few bites. While Kate smiled thankfully at me I asked: "Are you OK? You seem to be a little bit tensed. Wasn't I supposed to know about this Mike guy? And if so, why not?" Kate took a bite so she couldn't answer me straight away. "It's just," she started. "I'm-" she tried but I cut her off. "You're trying to let me think everything is hunky-dory but something's going on," I said looking her straight in her eyes. She let her shoulders sink to an ultimate low and sighed. "I'm sorry you noticed," she whispered. "A few weeks ago I noticed a lump on my breast," she said a bit embarrassed. She wasn't looking at me and I could see how tensed she was. I decided not to interrupt and let her continue. "Last week I finally had the courage to go and see my GP. She gave me a referral to an oncologist. After that I called my good friend Mike and asked him to come and see me. He dropped everything so we could spend a week together out at sea. It's not that you're not supposed to have seen me with him. It's more that I'm shocked you didn't come over at the restaurant or something like that. I didn't even know you were there," she explained.

I grabbed her hand and caressed it. "Oh gosh Kate," I said. "So have you seen the doctor in hospital yet?" I wondered. She shook her head. "I might look like a strong woman but I'm scared," she answered. I felt so sorry for her and now understood fully why she had behaving like this. "Oh well, let's not talk about it and enjoy our time together," she said sounding vividly. She took another bite and poured me some wine. "I thought you said Frank would come along next time. Since this is next time what have you done to him?" she asked. I laughed loudly. "I was going to take you out to dinner, a movie maybe, enjoy some time together," I began. "And then Rooster called and asked if I could do a little job for him. I agreed if I could just take you on my own. So Al had to stay behind and Frank is too busy working on another matter," I explained. Kate didn't seem to mind about them missing this trip. "That reminds me," I said while I got a piece of paper from my pocket and handed it to her. "Can you get us to these coordinates _without_ people ever finding out," I asked.

Kate took the paper with the numbers and looked at it. "You want me to forget to mention this in the ship's logbook?" she asked although I knew she had understood fine what I had asked her. "Yeah," I answered. "We need to pick up something and bring it back to Rooster," I told her. She looked at the numbers again and nodded. "Picking up some drugs?" she asked with a smile on her face. "Some samples," I answered. I could lie to her but she would find out anyway and she had been pretty pissed off the last time we held back information. She didn't have to know everything but this much I _could_ tell her.

"I guess we need to get there as soon as possible," she said, getting up and moving towards the helm. "I'll go and check. See how long it will take us to get there," she said. I smiled before I got up. She was talking about _we_ and _us_. Maybe it would take me a little bit more to win her over personally but she had totally excepted the challenge of getting this job done. "It's about an hour," she said, looking at me when I reached the helm. "You want to go there straight away or watch a movie tonight and go to the island tomorrow?" she asked me. I looked at her in surprise. "How do you know it's an island?" I wondered. I had not mentioned it and had only given her some numbers. "Look," she said while pointing at a map. "That island correlates with the numbers you gave me. We're currently here," she said while she pointed at the blue area on the map. I looked around and nodded. "So it will only take us an hour," I stated more than making it a question. "Let's pick up the stuff and _then_ watch a movie," I suggested. _And some fun between the sheets?_ I hoped.

When we finally reached the island it had become dark and Kate came down to tell me that it was too hard and dangerous to go to the island this evening. "I'm really sorry," she stated. "I'll go tomorrow morning," I said, accepting the situation. "Can't I come?" she wondered. "I don't think that's wise," I answered. Even if she was part of our organisation right now there were still things she didn't have to know to still be valuable to us. "You know we're picking up drug samples. You know about the island. That's as much as you need to know," I told her. Luckily Kate accepted my answer and didn't continue discussing it. "What kind of movies did you bring?" I wondered to change the subject again. She took hold of my hand and dragged me into the living area. "There," she pointed at a box full of DVD's. "Take your pick."

With a very romantic movie we settled down in front of the flat screen. At first I sat down next to her but throughout the movie I came closer and closer. In the end she leaned against me while I had my arms around her waist. "Can I kiss you?" I asked. She chuckled at my question but I wanted to make sure I didn't do anything she didn't want. She didn't draw herself away from me. She even pressed her petite body firmer into my embrace. "Did I already tell you you're a gentleman?" she asked me while she turned her head to be able to face me. "Any other man would have kissed me already," she added before she planted a kiss on my cheek. "I don't want you to get a wrong impression of me," I told her which resulted in a laughter from Kate. "You're still the nice drug dealer," she teased me. "You're a nice drug runner yourself," I teased her back. "Oh you can kiss me, just don't expect it to be earth-movingly good," she answered my previous question.

I rolled Kate a bit around so it was easier to kiss her. I pressed my lips against hers and enjoyed her moving form, adjusting to my moves. The kisses became more passionate and I slid my hand underneath her shirt to caress her back. Her skin was soft and felt really good. It made me a bit greedy, I wanted more. "Do you have protection on this boat?" I asked her in between two kisses. "No," she softly answered. I removed my hand from her back and stroked her head before I pulled her away from me, just slightly. "Don't worry. I have," I whispered. "No," she said again. I stopped kissing her and gave her a quizzical look. "I do. I've got condoms on me," I said. Kate shook her head and got away from me. "I'm not going to have sex with you," she finally said. I was so confused that I stood up and walked towards the kitchenette. She hadn't mind me touching her, kissing her so why not sleep with me? I realised I was hurt by her words.

"Doug, please come and sit down," she pleaded. When I didn't move she turned off the movie and padded the spot next to her. "I'm a bit old fashioned," she started to explain. "As in, no sex before marriage. It's not that I don't want _you_. It's more that I don't want you _now_," she said. I turned around and looked at her. "You don't strike me as old-fashioned," I spat at her, still hurt. Kate started to laugh and got up from the seat to walk over to me. "I don't want sex to rule our relationship. I see it as a cherry on the cake. It should be something extra or special. It's not the main ingredient. You don't even know if you like me," she said. My eyes widened and my breath stocked. "I do!" I exclaimed. "I do like you. I've never had this feeling before in my life. I've never asked a woman if I could kiss her, I just did. That night you stayed at my place, when you were stoned, you made advances to me. You were the one asking me to sleep with you. I could have but didn't do it. I wanted you to know what you're doing. It seriously is the first time in my life I could resist throwing a woman at my mattress and take her. It's because I love you," I proclaimed.

Kate stood still in front of me and looked me in my eyes. "If you really love me you'll be able to wait," she simply stated. "Will you marry me?" I asked her as a joke. She didn't react on it and I really didn't want to hear her answer anyway. "Oh Doug," she said to get me back into the present. "Let's enjoy our time together. Will you watch another movie with me? You are allowed to touch me you know. Put your arms around me and enjoy what you do have," she suggested. I was a bit disappointed but the chance of having her in my arms sounded good. "Kate?" I started while I moved towards the seats where we had been cuddling before. "When we come back the boys are going to ask me about this night. I can't tell them that-" I stopped and looked at her. "I can't tell them I didn't _get_ you," I finished a bit embarrassed. "Would you mind if I told them a little lie?" I asked. Kate started to laugh. "As long as you don't make me sound like a porn star. Tell them I was average or something like that," she smiled.

The night was pretty much uneventful since we didn't even sleep in the same bed that night. I thought I had blown my chances with her now she knew I wanted to sleep with her but she was still very lovingly and affectionate when the morning came around. We even had our first lovers tiff when she told me she was coming along to the island even after she had agreed not to the night before. I didn't want her to come along to the drug lab for multiple reasons but in the end she did come with me and stayed on the beach. It was as close to a compromise we were going to get. The good thing about having a fight is the making up bit and that was seriously good. The kisses and touches and dirty talk were letting me forget she was supposed to be an old-fashioned woman. With the drug samples and some pills for myself we moved back to Cairns where we arrived around noon. Rooster would be very happy.


	21. XXI Kate

**Kate**

Doug and I arrived back in town just before he received a phone call from Rooster. There was one very impatient drug dealer in town who ordered us to get our butts over to his place. Actually he wanted Doug but while we walked off the jetty I realised my car wasn't there. Doug had picked me up yesterday and I either had to call a cab or go along with him. I didn't know what was wise because I could write my report for the feds and then call Doug back to meet him later. This was the safer option but it wouldn't give me much inside on what was going to happen with the drug samples. I could also come along with Doug, get some more information and _then_ write my report. The sooner I knew about it all the sooner I could quit this job.

I was surprised though. Surprised I wasn't as scared of Doug as I thought I would be. He actually is a nice, and a good looking man. He's totally smitten with me and he wouldn't mind some fun with me between the sheets. _That's_ not going to happen but I secretly have to admit I don't mind a kissing session with him. He's gentle and caring and I have to watch myself not to fall in love with him. Last night I tried to think of Mike as if he was holding me and kissing me but in the end I was so relaxed that it didn't matter anymore he wasn't the man I was fooling around with. It is a bit confusing though. I shouldn't have these feelings for a few reasons and mainly because I'm in love with Mike Flynn so it also scares me a bit. I really hope this whole thing is over soon. At least before I'm too confused.

"Come on Kate. Rooster doesn't like to wait," Doug started ushering me around. I followed him to the car and threw my bag on the backseat. When we were on our way Doug gave me a serious glance. "Don't ask Rooster about his name. Maybe it's safe to not ask any questions at all," he warned me. I nodded. "I won't ask him about his name but not asking _any_ question. That's going to be hard," I joked. Doug gave me another serious look before he tapped the tip of my nose. "Yeah, you are a little bit nosy. One or two, that's the limit. Please try. I don't want you or me to end up in trouble," he finished seriously. Rooster must really be a tough criminal if even Doug was intimidated by him. "I'll do my best," I promised. I just had to use my other senses while being in his house. This morning I had made a few photos while on the island and I wanted to try and make some while at Rooster's place as well.

The only time I had been at Rooster's place was when there was a party and when it was night. Now we were there in broad daylight which gave me the possibility to have a good look at the place. It was a nice house, one that was a bit too big for me, even if I would have a shore posting, but drug dealers had to be some sort of show-offs so this house had to have everything. I already knew there was a pool and a large patio but during the party I hadn't seen much of the inside of the house. Doug seemed to know his way pretty well around the place and led me towards a large office. Behind a large desk Rooster sat like he was the king of Cairns. When we entered the room he got up and walked around it to greet us. "I already hoped it would be you," he said when he embraced Doug. "Hello Kate. It's nice to see you too," he said while extending his hand to me. "It's nice to be back here. You have a lovely place," I complimented.

The man moved back to the other side of the desk and sat down. "Ricardo told me you came to pick up the samples this morning," he stated while he started working on his computer. It was down to business and I felt a little lost in this situation. Should I stay or excuse myself? Did they want me there in the office or was, whatever they were saying, not _that _much interested for _anyone_? "I've got a list here," Rooster said while he pointed at his computer. "All possible buyers but they want the best stuff. Since Ricardo told me you were on your way down here I asked some chicks to come here. They're upstairs waiting for a sample," Rooster said, now looking at Doug. "Yeah, yeah, I brought them, of course," Doug added with a laugh. Rooster nodded and looked at me. "You could try out a sample if you want but you do look a bit tired," he said to me.

I hadn't even noticed I looked tired but it must be the little bit of anxiety I was feeling. "What did you do to the poor woman, Doug?" Rooster joked. Doug put his hand on my shoulder and I was scared he was going to feel the tenseness in my body but even if he did he didn't mention it at all. He even made it worse. "You don't want to know," he said proudly. I looked at him in embarrassment knowing he was going to mention himself and me and a bed on my boat. Rooster just looked knowingly from me to Rooster and back. "You know better than to keep secrets from me. Well?" Rooster said threateningly. "Doesn't her reaction say enough?" Doug finally said. Rooster looked another time at me and smiled. "You better know that we don't have much secrets from each other. I'll find out sooner or later," he told me.

I was glad Doug didn't really mention anything but I'd rather know what those men said about me than that I had to guess later on. "Let's just say Doug is a hard slave master and the body exercise he had in store for me was good but tiring," I joked. Rooster finished something on his computer and walked around his desk again. "Well, dear Kate. We'll let you alone for a minute. Take the time to rest because I'll give Doug some more exercise ideas," he said to me. I didn't know if he was joking or not but I decided to laugh as if it was. "Doug, come along. We'll get the girls their samples," he said while he padded Doug's shoulder.

The men left the room and I was wondering how long they would be gone. Was there enough time for me to see what Rooster had been working on? I did have an USB-stick with me so if they were gone long enough I could try and copy it. Quickly I walked around the desk to find that the computer wasn't locked. Of all the things I had thought of Rooster I was surprised he had left his computer this way. The document he had been working on was, like he had said, a list of people who were asking for drugs. I didn't know if they were known by the feds but if I could supply this list to them it could be a great help.

From my pocket I got the stick and put it in the computer. The document was saved on it before anyone had come back. Could I be courageous enough to find out anything else from the computer? Frantically I kept looking at the door or tried to listen where the men were while I checked the computer for more interesting documents. It was all quiet now but maybe I needed a reason why I would be on this side of the desk. If I could come up with something believable than maybe Doug, but mostly Rooster, wouldn't be too angry with me when they saw me. While I was copying several files onto the stick I looked around to see if there was anything I could use as an excuse. Then I saw a cup of coffee standing next to a lovely little statuette. I could 'accidently' knock over the coffee, I thought. That was what I was going to do but first I needed to check if the documents had been copied.

I heard Doug and Rooster come back. There was no time to come up with a plan B so I quickly knocked over the coffee. The liquid poured down over all the paperwork Rooster had been working on but I didn't care. I needed one more minute before all the documents were saved and then I needed to get the USB-stick back from the computer without anyone noticing it. I didn't look at the coffee but looked at the computer instead. Twenty seconds. Ten seconds. Done! Just a fraction of a second before the guys returned I took the stick out of the computer and put it back in my pocket. That my face was as heated as could be could still be the result of shame of knocking over the coffee.

I was down on my knees trying to stop the coffee from spilling on the floor any further when the guys walked back in. "What happened here?" Rooster asked accusingly. He ran the last meters towards the desk and removed the paperwork, now covered in coffee. "What did you do?" he asked while he roughly pulled me back on my feet. "I'm sorry," I said sorrowfully. "I wanted to have a look at your statue and then I accidently knocked over the coffee," I explained. I wanted to get back on my knees to keep the coffee from spilling any further but Rooster stopped me. "Forget about that," he yelled. "Just get back," he ordered. I did what he said and moved away from the desk. "Did you spill any coffee on the computer?" Rooster barked at me. I could only shake my head while I moved even further away from him. He was really freaking me out.

Meanwhile Doug was standing there, totally horrified by what was going on. He didn't move until Rooster shoved me towards him. "Take her away. I don't want to see her until I'm calm again," he barked. "Come on," Doug whispered softly to me. "What happened?" he asked me when we were far enough away from Rooster's office. "I wanted to have a look at the statue and didn't see the coffee. I knocked it over. Is he always like this?" I asked while I looked back. Doug caressed my back and smiled. "He's a fire-cracker. It'll blow over and the next time he'll see you he will be as nice as before," he assured me. I wasn't so sure if that would be the case. What would he do if he found out who I really was when he already bit my head off over a spilled cup of coffee. I'd rather stay away from him if I could.

Doug tried to do a lot to make me feel better but nothing seemed to work and so I was glad when he suggested he would bring me home. "I'll call you tomorrow," he said when he parked the car in front of _my_ house. I nodded before I grabbed my bag from the backseat. "Are you sure Rooster isn't going to stay mad?" I asked hopeful. Doug laughed one more time and grabbed my arm. "I don't know how you do it. You didn't even ask him a question and you seem to get up his back but you know," he said with a smile. "I still think Rooster likes you. Just offer the use of your boat. Somewhere next week. We need to get to the island and you're the best drug runner so far," he said. I gave him a surprised look. _The best drug runner. How did I have to interpret that?_ "The best?" I asked him suspiciously. "You know you're good Kate. You've got a boat, you seem to have a lot of experience and you don't do this solely for the money," he explained.

I smiled. "Yes, I've got a nice boat," was the only thing I could say to that. The bit about the experience was best left untouched. I didn't want him to ask me where I got all that experience from and the bit about the money. Well, maybe he was right. I didn't get to keep the money I received but Doug made it look like I agreed completely with what they were doing. If only he knew! "I'll be waiting for your phone call. Maybe we could finally get together on a date. One where we're not together at a party of someone linked to _our_ job or at the boat on our way to islands," I said. Doug finally let go of my arm but not before he kissed me. I leaned into him to deepen the kiss and then broke it off to tease him. "More for you in store if you call me tomorrow with a nice dinner date arrangement," I teased him. He looked so confused, it was almost endearing. "Love you Kate," Doug yelled while I shut the car door.

I entered the house but stayed close to the door until Doug had driven away and was out of sight. He didn't have to see I wasn't at all familiar in my own home. When he was gone I walked to the kitchen and threw the bag somewhere in the corner. I needed something to drink and hoped Andrew had stocked the fridge before he dropped me at this place. I should have known. This house was like a model house for a sales company and had nothing real in any cupboards or food in the fridge. There was no other option than to go to the store and get something to eat. I made a list what I would need for a couple of days and then searched for my car keys and wallet. When I had everything I drove to the nearest supermarket. It happened to be the one close to Mike's place. _Mike_. It was the first time today I thought about him and I know I should stay away from him but I missed him.

After the shopping I decided against my better judgement to drive past Mike's house. It looked like he was at home but I couldn't just pop over and say 'hi' and then having to leave again. I parked the car a couple of houses away from his house and took out my mobile and called him. While I was waiting for him to pick up I realised he wouldn't know it was me calling him. This was not my own phone number and he didn't know my new one. "Mike Flynn," he answered. "Mike," I quickly said as if he would hang up if I turned out to be someone else. "It's Kate," I added although I knew he would have recognised my voice. "Kate," he simply replied. "You shouldn't call me," and hung up.

I looked at the phone, bewildered, and dialled the number again. "Mike. I know I shouldn't but I miss you. I-" I started but again he didn't let me finish my sentence. "Don't tempt me to start talking to you. Whatever I need to discuss with you we have to do it face to face. Call me when your job is done," he quickly spoke. "No, Mike, please," I begged. "Kate, you can't even be honest with me. I don't want to talk to you. Not over the phone. Call me when you're back in town," he said before he hung up a second time. He hadn't sound happy or lovingly when he spoke and I didn't know what was going on. Of course, he was right and I shouldn't call him but what had he meant with 'we need to discuss things face to face' or 'you can't be honest with me'? I was too scared to call him again and get another short, cut-off answer.

What had happened in the two days we hadn't seen each other? I wanted to find an answer to that question a lot more than finding out what was going on in the drugs smuggling world but before I could think about it too much my phone started ringing. A split second I hoped it would be Mike telling me he was sorry but when I looked at the display on my mobile I knew it wasn't. "Andrew," I said, showing my disappointment. "You're back in port. Are you still with Doug?" he asked me. I shook my head and produced a sound which Andrew interpreted as a sob. "Are you OK?" he asked. "Where are you?" he asked worriedly. I realised I had to do more than nod so this time I shrugged and said: "I'm doing some shopping. That house is totally empty. How do you want me to live in a house with no food?" I snapped at him.

Andrew pretended he didn't hear the offensive tone in my voice and very calmly said: "Come to the _Shark Tooth Bar_, tonight." I had no other choice than to do what he said so I agreed. I would go and tell him everything I knew. "I've got something for you," I said while I touched the USB stick in my pocket. "Don't talk about it over the phone. I'll see you tonight," he ordered me. Before I could say anything else he too had hung up the phone. I sighed, looked at Mike's house and decided it was best to just leave and go home.

That night I entered the grubby bar again and walked straight to the dark corner where Andrew was already waiting for me. "What do you want to drink?" he asked me. I shrugged. I hadn't come to socialise or to get a drink. I wanted to hand him the information I had and leave again. "Come on Kate. I promise I won't bite," Andrew joked. "OK. A mineral water," I sighed. Andrew left me behind in the corner to get some drinks and came back with a packet of chips as well. "So, what do you have for me?" he asked. I handed him the USB stick and tried to make eye-contact with him. "I've done what you wanted from me. You now know where the island is, at least I gather you've got the data of the boat available on shore and on this stick you'll find information on where the drugs goes to," I stated.

Without asking what kind of other information was on it or how I got the information Andrew put the USB stick in his pocket but then he looked at me, seriously. "It's not as simple as that. We need to process this first. Then we will know if we need to deal with it or if we need more information. You're doing a great job but you'll have to stay until we know for sure we can bust these guys," he said to me. I wanted to protest but he held up his hand. "Be careful what you tell these guys. The lump on your breast was cleverly found but you have to stay believable. You know what I mean. Don't dig too many holes to trip over. Keep it simple," he said. I took a sip off my water and shrugged. "I'll try. Up until now I can still manage it all," I said, trying to sound proud. Andrew didn't need to know I was really disappointed my time with the feds wasn't over yet. "Here's a card of an oncologist. He's a friend of Brian. He has agreed to play along and see you if necessary. Just remember that we can't come up with all these kind of things on a short time so please don't invent more people to see, talk to or meet," he warned me. I looked at the card and thanked Andrew. I wondered how long he was going to rule my life. "Andrew. I want every single tape of _that_ night as soon as we're done," I stated. He nodded and smiled but he wouldn't know how to look or smile if he didn't deliver. "I'm serious!" I added.


	22. XXII Mike

**Mike**

A week had passed since Kate had tried to call me. A full week without her around me and I didn't even miss her. Amber Wildebeast was excelling herself and it seemed she had won the crews acceptance. The more I looked at her performances the more I started to appreciate her. On a personal level she was pleasant as well. We didn't have the short hand talking I have with Kate yet but in time that would come. _In time_, I thought. In time I wouldn't be the CO of this boat anymore and would Kate take over command. Although I didn't miss her I did think about her a lot this past week. I wondered where she was and how she was doing. She had surprised me with her call two days after she had told me we wouldn't be able to talk to or see each other. I had been short with her but not just because I was surprised by her call. Ever since I had received the mail from Timothy I started questioning everything Kate had done so far and not all my thoughts were so honourable.

Every time I thought about Kate I saw this little kid, dealing drugs at a high school. Every time I thought about her I wondered how much of what she had ever told me was true. Because of this reason I was glad Amber was fitting in so well. Nobody talked much, or discussed Kate's absence and therefore I didn't have to either. An hour ago we had docked in Cairns but before I could take off I had to do my paperwork. During the patrol there had been so little time to do it. I had given Amber the chance to lead the boat back to port so I could start working on my paperwork. Again, she had done an excellent job. Any CO would be happy to have her as an XO. _Kate_ should be happy.

A knock on my door disturbed my thoughts. "Yes," I stated. The door opened and Lieutenant Wildebeast appeared, in civvies, with a folder in her hands and her bag slung over her shoulder. "Boss, here are my reports. I hope they're up to standards because I really hoped I could be off soon. I just moved into this new apartment and want to get settled in," she spoke quickly. I had no doubt the reports would be up to standard but to satisfy her I looked at a few and gave her an appreciative smile. "They look fine X," I said. "Oh good. Well, I'm off then. By the way, I'm shouting drinks at the pub tonight to celebrate my new posting. Will you come?" she asked me. She smiled at me and waited eagerly for my reply. Normally I didn't mix much with the drinking games and long nights the younger sailors went through but I would come and stay for one drink and then go back home. I looked at the woman and though that somehow Amber wouldn't want me to go home after one drink. "I'll try. I'm not a real party person but I'll try and come tonight," I replied. "That is if I ever get through my pile of papers and after I brought them to Commander White," I added.

Amber was satisfied with my answer and left me behind doing my paperwork. When I was finally done I wanted to close my laptop but decided to check my mail first. If I was going to a party tonight there would be no time to this later. To my surprise I had a few mails which I hadn't seen yet but only one caught my attention. Quickly I opened it and started reading. The bad feeling about being lied to was growing rapidly. Commander Marshall had just informed me about yet another lie.

With all my finished paperwork I walked into Navcom. Without much respect I barged into Maxine's office, threw the door shut with my foot, dropped the paperwork on her desk and crossed my arms in front of me. "Why?" I barked. "First Kate and now you!" Maxine looked at me, stunned, but I guess she knew what I was talking about. "If you calm down and will sit on that chair, losing the attitude, I _might_ talk to you," she said coldly. I wanted to throw another hissy fit but knew I wouldn't get far with that. I breathed loudly and my nostrils were hurting by the force my body used to get rid of the air. Maxine organised the folders I had thrown onto her desk and then looked up to me. "Mike," she softly said. It was the tone of a friend and it made it so much harder to stay angry. "You want to ask me something. Something I've done? Something Kate has done?" she asked.

Maxine had a way to patronise me and right now it ticked me off a lot more than other days. "Don't do this," I spat at her. "You know very well what I'm talking about and I don't like being lied to," I continued. Maxine leaned back at her chair and looked at me, wondering if I was going to continue or not. "If you're a little bit more specific I might be able to help you," she said. I sighed. I guess I really had to spell everything out to her. "That day when Kate _didn't _ get her promotion, well, when she actually _did_," I said sarcastically. "There were two feds in your office. You told me I didn't need to know everything and Kate didn't tell me much back then. Well we did finally talk and she told me they were feds. She didn't say much else but somehow I keep believing they had something to do with her knock-back," I said looking straight at Maxine. "And I was right. I got in touch with Commander Marshall and he told me that Kate _did_ get her promotion. I asked him to look into it and he found out her promotion was approved. All the paperwork has been sent to you. So. Care to explain?" I asked angrily.

Maxine rolled her eyes and folded her arms in front of her. "You've been digging," was the first thing she said. "Well of course I'm digging! No one actually _tells_ me anything. You said, or Kate said, I don't know _who_ said it but both of you said you didn't know when Kate would get her promotion or what she had to do to get it. Why didn't you just tell me she was helping out the feds and that she would get her promotion when that job was done?" I asked her. Maxine bent forward and leaned against her desk. "Because it's like every undercover operation. The less people know about what's going on the less security risks you have. Kate was asked to do this job and I gave her the choice to get the promotion at that time or to wait until everything was over. She chose to wait because it would look strange to get her away from the Hammersley when she was her CO. That's also the reason why she didn't tell _you_. It would look a lot more convincing if she was disappointed," Maxine explained.

It actually made sense but a lot of things that I'd been told lately made sense in the beginning until I started thinking about it. "Why Kate?" I asked. Maxine shrugged and dared to look me in my eyes. "They needed someone they could trust and someone who had knowledge on the water. Kate fit that bill perfectly," she answered. I nodded, letting her know I accepted the answer but then I put my elbows on her desk and snapped: "So it has _nothing_ to do with her drug past?" Maxine moved back a bit and was shocked by my outburst or by my question. I didn't know. "You really have been digging," she said. "Well?" I demanded. Maxine sighed and moved around the desk to sit next to me. "Mike, what do you know about her past? _How_ do you know? I only found out a couple of weeks ago myself," she said before she sat down and touched my arm.

"Maxine I don't know who Kate is anymore. She always was this beautiful mysterious woman who wouldn't let anyone near her," I sighed. "The feds did ask for her because of her past didn't they?" I asked again but this time a lot friendlier. Maxine nodded. "Have you talked to Kate?" she asked me. I laughed cynically. "No. She's out of reach remember," I answered. "Look," Maxine said. "Kate's promotion came through that morning and I had just called her to come in. I guess she knew why I called and she sounded happy. She must have called you straight after we had hung up. Then, two feds came in and told me they needed us to help them. They asked for Kate and, just like you, I wanted to know how they knew her and why they wanted her in particular," Maxine admitted. "They told me about Kate's past. I guess they told me the same as what you know. That is, if you got the information through police records etcetera," she said, looking at me to confirm she was right. "I asked a friend," I told her.

Maxine wasn't even angry for my prying and just continued. "When Kate got here we asked her if she wanted to do the job. She agreed and then you showed up early. To make it a little bit more believable she ran away. Later that day she returned and I asked her about her past," she told me quietly. "I guess you know she was dealing drugs at high school," she half asked, half stated and I nodded. "I was surprised because it doesn't happen much that someone with such a past even gets into ADFA but Kate told me that she never sold any of the drugs. Her stepdad gave her a new package each week for her to sell. During that week Kate worked to earn a little bit of money. That money she handed over to the man, telling him it was whatever she had sold that week," Maxine said.

I recognised the strong, slightly stubborn woman I had got to know over the years. It made me feel so terrible. Kate had just been a kid and the man had to be her guardian, the one to protect her and he hadn't done that. He had used her and years later I started doubting Kate. How unfair this world could be. "Kate ran away from home soon after," Maxine continued as if she hadn't noticed I had fallen completely silent. "She had to change schools but somehow managed to get good grades while living out on the streets. When she was seventeen she graduated and applied for a gap year in the navy. Of course her instructors knew about her past and she was accepted on one condition," Maxine said, briefly stopping to get some air. "She had to proof she was clean, _every single week_, and she wasn't allowed to get off navy premises during her leave," Maxine told me. "She endured it all because the navy provided her a future. When she had served as a seaman on a frigate she asked to be accepted at ADFA," Maxine finished.

From there everything was on file and I had read it all. "It might explain why she doesn't like doctors, needles and hospitals," I joked. Maxine laughed as well. "She's seen a lot of them but does this piece of information make sense to you?" she asked me. "It does. I do have one question though. Why has she never said anything about this to me?" I asked her. Maxine started laughing as if she knew something. "There _is_ more between you two, isn't there?" she asked me. I could only smile and nod. "We have kept it off the ship, honestly," I started defending us. "I'm happy for you Mike. She's a good woman and now you're off the boat there isn't much I can disapprove of. Just don't jump to the chance as soon as she comes back or it might still be seen as favouritism," she warned me.

I didn't know what to say anymore. Maxine noticed my silence and padded my shoulder while she got up and walked back to the other side of the desk. "You miss her, don't you," she teased me. I looked up and knew it was futile to deny it. "I do. Oh Maxine. It's so stupid. I thought she had gotten where she is now by lying, cheating, sleeping with officers. I've betrayed her and she doesn't even know it. She called me last week and I was very short with her. I guess she doesn't even understand why," I said feeling totally embarrassed. "You two should talk. You need to tell her that you went digging in her past and what you found, how it made you feel and what it does to you. At the same time she needs to learn how to trust you and tell you things like this. It's going to be fine. Why don't you give her a call right now?" Maxine finished her little preach.

I hadn't thought of that. I didn't even know if I still had the phone number she had used to call me. I looked through the history of my mobile and found only number which could be hers. "You really think I should?" I asked Maxine. She nodded. "Of course. She'll love to get a call from you," she encouraged me. I smiled at her, thankfully, but then I remembered something. "Maxine," I said quickly. "So she did get her promotion?" I asked. She opened one of her drawers and showed me the shoulder pads. "I'm guarding them for her," she almost whispered. "I would like to do that," I said hoping Maxine would let me. She handed them to me. "Remember Mike. The navy wouldn't make a Lieutenant Commander of her nor would the feds specifically ask for her to help them out if she is guilty. They trust her and so should we," she said. "And maybe you should inform Commander Marshall about the promotion. I did send him a very angry mail about the subject and he was going to do some checking. He wants to know why you didn't fill in the forms," I warned her. Maxine nodded and thanked me. Just before I left her office she called out for me. "I did fill in the forms. Kate even signed them. We just never sent them off. Now go and give that woman a call and tell her how you feel!" she ordered me.


	23. XXIII Andrew

**Andrew**

If Kate ever lost her job with the navy I would be the first to offer her one as a cop. This woman was good! In one afternoon she had provided us with more information about the drugs scene in Cairns than we could have hoped for. On the USB stick were several valuable documents, also about parts of the operation we hadn't even got a clue about. One of those things was the upcoming jailbreak of some high ranked criminals. Another thing I found out was that they wanted to use Kate's boat for the final trip. There was also a document about Kate. In it was a full description on how to deal with her, from Doug who had to seduce her and then bring her in to what would happen after that. When she was sucked in far enough she would be handed over to someone else who would teach her new skills. After every step was a checkbox and I had no doubt that if she wouldn't earn the next checkmark she would be a dead person. Nevertheless, the way Doug talked about Kate and whatever Kate had told me about him it looked like Doug wasn't planning on handing Kate over to anyone. He really was in love with her. Whatever was planned for the next trip, we had to get her out for her own safety.

Kate would love to hear the news that the next trip would be the last and that's why I decided to come by and visit her personally. To make sure she didn't have a visitor I had called late last night and had, unmistakably, woken her up. She had made it an early night and had fallen asleep with a book in her hands. I now almost knew for certain she would be alone and so it was safe to come around. I parked my car across the street and knocked on the door. I didn't want to wake her again so I had decided to make it safe and visit around breakfast time. I wasn't surprised for her to open the door still walking around in her pj's and her hair loosely pulled back with a band. "Good morning," I said joyfully. Kate gave me a shocked look and didn't invite me in. "Have I forgotten a meeting?" she wondered. "You didn't mention anything about a meeting last night," she continued, still dumbfounded. "Oh no. You're not going to take me to hospital for another round of tests are you?"

Kate made sure I couldn't see anything of the inside of her house and I began to become a little bit suspicious. "Aren't you going to let me in to find out?" I asked her. She looked over her shoulder before she sighed. "Oh well," she exhaled and opened the door. I followed her in but there was nobody else in the house. "I thought," I began to stammer. Kate looked at me and began to laugh. "I had you fooled, hadn't I," she said proudly. I couldn't help but laugh as well. I had underestimated her _again_. "Who do you think I would be hiding here?" she asked me cheekily. I thought it was wise not to answer that question and just follow her to the kitchen where she had put some breakfast on the table. "You've probably had brekkie but can I offer you something to drink?" she asked me. "A cup of coffee would be fine," I answered.

I wondered if Kate really was as cheery as she seemed to be. The last time when I talked to her she wasn't that happy with me. Since then we had had a few contact moments but they had mainly be through mail and phone conversations. I knew she had been away with Doug quite a few times, sometimes on the boat and sometimes at one of their houses, or at least that was what she had told me. I could understand why Kate didn't like being around me or would never want to speak to me if she didn't have to but she really seemed at ease or happy. It couldn't be that she was actually falling in love with Doug? "Milk with two," I said to Kate who was working on my coffee. She simply nodded and got me a coffee the way I liked it best. I could do a few things. I could ask her if she wanted to know why I came around or I could ask her what had changed. I chose to do the first. If she was happy because she was getting a bit too cosy with Doug then it would be stopped anyway in a few days.

"Thanks," I said, taking one of the coffees from her. "There is a reason why I came around and not asking you to come to _the Shark Tooth Bar_," I began. Kate became serious in an instant and looked at me while sipping from her own mug of coffee. "Thanks to your information we think we can close this operation within a few days," I told her. A big smile appeared on her face but she didn't say anything, she just waited for me to continue. "We've made a couple of arrests in the past few days. People who were on the list you supplied. They all told us the same thing. Lots of drugs will be coming in over the next few days. You already told us that Doug had asked you if it was possible to use your boat for another trip to the island but we now know it's for real," I explained.

Kate looked happier by the minute. "Does this mean my job is done in a couple of days?" she asked me eagerly. "It looks like it," I answered but at the same time I wanted to temper her enthusiasm to be done with this operation. She needed to focus until the job was done. "Doug will contact you soon and ask you to go to the island and pick up the drugs. At the same time there will be a prison break here in Cairns. They either use the prison break to divert attention from the drug run or they use the drug run to divert from the prison break. Either way we need to focus and pay attention to what's happening," I said seriously. "What do you think?" she asked. "Which operation is the diversion?" she wanted to know. I honestly didn't know. If they would lose the drugs they would lose a lot. They knew we would eventually figure out about the island and that would be the end of their drug importation. I sighed. "They're planning to break free the boss of the syndicate together with two others. The problem is, is that we don't know who they're talking about. In the document you gave us they talk about 'the boss', 'K' and 'D'_._ If they're really planning on freeing the boss they would want that operation to work out," I stated.

Kate took this piece of information pretty quietly. "So I'm part of the diversion operation?" she asked me. I shrugged and sighed. "I honestly don't know. I do know they think you're valuable and there is a document about how to deal with you after this operation is finished," I told her. "How to deal with me?" she asked alarmed. I started to smile to let her know it didn't mean they were going to kill her. "As in dragging you deeper into the syndicate by manipulation, blackmailing and handing you around to various men," I explained. Suddenly she became very cynical. "Blackmailing," she whispered. "You must be going to the same school," she said to me, looking me in the eyes. We could have a long and winded conversation about it but I didn't have time for that so I just ignored her comment and continued. "There is one other option," I said slowly, making sure she was paying attention. "It's quite possible that the two operations aren't at the same time or even linked. In that case we should be able to stop at least one operation," I said.

I thought my answer was clear but Kate looked at me confused. "So you don't want it to happen on two different moments," she tried to clarify her thoughts. "Exactly," I answered. "But what if it _does_? What if the jail break comes first. Am I going to be collateral damage?" she asked me sternly. I grabbed her hand and shook my head fervently. "Oh no! You're going to be our number one priority. We'll make sure you're going to be safe. That's why I'm here," I said. Finally I had gotten around to where I actually wanted to be. I needed to instruct her so everything _would_ go to plan. "If the information is right you'll be out sailing later today or somewhere tomorrow. The drugs should be back in town within three or four days but we believe Doug is ordered to go out early as to divert from the obvious. We want you to do nothing this time. Don't ask questions, don't pry or try and find out more information. They're on a big drug operation and will be tensed more than usual. Just do whatever they want. Drive the boat to and from the island and try to enjoy the trip. In the meantime we'll keep an eye on the prison and catch the criminals as soon as they come out," I explained.

It all sounded so easy but I knew Kate knew this was serious business. "If you do what I just told you you'll be fine. We'll keep track of the boat and the navy will have a patrol boat ready to intercept. All of you will be arrested, including yourself so your cover won't be blown. Back in port we will separate you from the others and you'll be free. We will take your statement but after that your job is done," I explained. "A patrol boat? What will you do if it's the Hammersley that gets to arrest us? Everyone on that ship knows me. Are you going to inform them all I'll be amongst the crooks?" she asked. "I knew you would point that out and therefore I asked Commander White to send the Hammersley to another region. The CO of the nearest navy vessel will be informed of your role," I answered.

Everything I had to tell her was now been told. I needed to get out before Doug would come around but just as I was about to leave her mobile started buzzing. Had it all started? Expectantly I waited and looked at her while she checked the text message. Kate smiled and put the phone down. "A message from Doug?" I wanted to know. She shook her head and looked at her phone again. Doug was the only person to be able to send her messages besides others from the syndicate, if they had her number, but I didn't expect her to have such a smiling face if the message was from anyone else. "Not from Doug," was her only answer and it pissed me off. I didn't like being held in the dark. "That's not an answer," I said sternly. Kate looked at me with a smile and sighed. "Mike," she answered. I was shocked that she was kept in touch with him while she was supposed to stay away from him. "Doug knows about Mike," Kate started to defend the text message. "But if it makes you happy I'll delete it," she said. I shook my head. For some reason I didn't believe she would. "I'll do it," I said. She wanted to delete the message but I grabbed the phone from her.

_Kate. I'm sorry._

_I tried to call you yesterday._

_Max told me about you._

_We need to talk when you're done._

_We just got orders to go to Orlan Island_

_Love you and stay safe._

_Mike_

I hit delete and handed her back the phone. "I _was_ going to delete that myself," she snapped. "Now get out of this house. I'll see you back in Cairns after this is all done," she added sounding short and curt. I had wanted to end this in a very different way but knew my apology wouldn't be enough to make things right. Of course she would have deleted this particular message. I should have trusted her on that. "I'm sorry," I said anyway, knowing she wouldn't be grateful about it. "And good luck," I added while Kate guided me towards the door. Without saying another word she shut the door behind me. I really hoped we were going to be successful because she would love to see the back of me and I wouldn't mind not having to deal with her anymore. I sighed and walked towards my car. We had all worked so hard to nail these guys. It just _had_ to work.


	24. XXIV Cavanaugh

**Cavanaugh**

For months I had been locked up after Anton Gorski was stupid enough to let his wife and the irritating navy guy live. Why? Why hadn't _I_ killed at least one of them myself? It would have saved me from some jail time but it doesn't matter anymore. The cops thought they had outsmarted Derek Cavanaugh but they should seriously reconsider. Somehow they had found out about my plans of breaking free. Probably some stupid junkie in prison who had heard something and blabbed to the cops for some privileges. They would soon find out you couldn't do deals with cops but that wasn't any of my concern because I had managed to get out without being caught again. As promised Frank was waiting and took me to the harbour. We would travel in a little dinghy towards a small island just off the coast from where I would be transferred onto a better vessel.

Frank and I were now on the beach and I was getting pretty impatient. I didn't get my freedom back to squander it with waiting. It only made me edgy because it gave me too much time to think about things. "Who knew about the freedom plans?" I asked Frank, who was also impatiently looking towards the sea. "Rooster and I. Why do you want to know?" he asked me in return. He turned around to face me. "You don't think we had anything to do with how the cops seemed to know about it?" he asked me accusingly. I walked up to him until I could smell his toothpaste, or more the lack of toothpaste, in his mouth. "Care to give me a reason how they did know about it if only two people knew about it?" I howled in his face.

Frank took a few steps backwards until he reached the waterline and stopped, scared to get his feet wet. "Well, I, uh, Doug and Kate did visit Rooster when they brought the samples last week and Al was in and out of the place all the time," he stammered. I frowned. Al was someone who would fetch a stick if you asked him to and Doug was a clever guy. He could have gotten the information from Rooster if he had the opportunity. "Kate?" I asked, not really remembering who she was. "The woman with the boat remember?" Frank quickly filled me in. "Oh yeah," I said, remembering Frank telling me about this new drug runner with a good boat. "You didn't like her much, did you?" I asked him. Frank shrugged and shielded his eyes while he looked out over the water again. "She has attitude. Too much to my liking but she checks out alright and seems to be cool with her involvement," he answered, quickly looking at me.

I suppressed a chuckle while I looked at Frank. The only women he seemed to like were the submissive types but then he gets bored with them and they're replaced. "Is she attractive?" I asked him, wondering what he would say. "Mwah," Frank exhaled uninterested. "Not really my type," he answered. I couldn't help but laugh loudly now. "Not your type because she has too much attitude or because she doesn't turn you on?" I teased him. Frank noticed I was fooling around with him and he chuckled as well. "Both but you can check her out for yourself. She's on her way to bring you to the island," he said. I wasn't done teasing him yet and poked him playfully in his ribs. "Don't tell me she's _that_ ugly that you wouldn't want to have a go with her," I said. Frank tried to dodge the question but I had no better things to do right now so I kept on probing him until he answered. "Oh well. OK. She's pretty enough for me to want to screw her," he finally admitted.

I had had my fun and started thinking again about who else could have talked to the cops about our plans. "I didn't talk about the plans while I was still in prison," I thought out loud. "And the only time I had the plans on paper I gave them to you," I said accusingly while turning towards Frank. "Hey, I didn't blab, honestly," he defended himself. I saw how Frank's appearance had changed to one of a scared man and I almost knew for sure it hadn't been him to talk to the cops. But someone had! Too many little things were going wrong lately. Somewhere there was a leak and I was determent to find it before I skipped the country. "Look! There. The boat," Frank suddenly screamed, pointing at a luxury cruiser appearing on the horizon. "Finally," I stated. "I hope they've got some good food on that boat because I'm starving."

We took the dinghy and our bags and went to _the Golden Sunshine_ where Al greeted us. "Sorry it took us this long," he started, knowing we wanted an explanation for the delay. "But they're all searching for you down in the harbour. First they had to check the boat before we were allowed to enter it and when they couldn't find you we were allowed to leave," he said as fast as he could. "Then, they picked random boats just a little off the coast and we got searched _again_," Al finished, still sounding like he was on his last breath. "But they couldn't find you," he joked as if it was a first class joke. I just nodded and handed him my bag. "Put it in the best room and then come back to me," I ordered him. Al smiled and started doing what I told him to do. "Boss, I'm glad to see you," Doug said while he came down from the helm. "It's been too long," he added.

Doug started patting my back and lead me toward the living area of the boat when a blonde woman came down. I stopped to give her a better look. This must be _the_ Kate they all had been talking about. She was wearing shorts and a tight floral top with her hair falling down on her shoulders. I don't think I had ever seen her before but her face was familiar to me. We looked at each other for a split second and she stopped at the last step of the stairs. "You go first," she said while she politely wanted to let me pass her. "Oh no, you go first," I said with a smile. _The face, the voice, I definitely have met her before_. She walked down the last step and I followed her into the area. "Kate Smith. A pleasure to meet you," she said after she turned around and extended her hand to me. "Derek Cavanaugh," I smiled.

Doug put his arms possessively around Kate and looked behind me. I turned around and saw Al come back from putting my bag away. "Anything else I can do for you?" he asked me. I didn't know what else he could do but hoped he wouldn't be like a young pup hanging around me all the time. "Find yourself something useful to do," I said a bit bored. I wanted to get to know more about Kate and find out how I knew her. I was about to ask her a question when Al turned to her and asked: "What should I do with the dinghy?" Kate shrugged and looked outside at the little boat we had attached to the yacht. "Keep it there for now. When we're at open sea we'll let it go," she answered. I frowned. That was an unusual answer but luckily for me Al wanted to know what her reasons were for doing that. "You see," she started teasingly while she walked towards Al. "The cops will figure out he," she now pointed at me, "has escaped via water. Or at least they'll start looking. They'll look at every vessel on the water and will find an empty dinghy somewhere in the middle of the ocean. They can assume he was in it and either went overboard or is stuck on an island with no means of transportation," she explained.

I liked her thinking. In any case if the cops would find the dinghy they had to spend time to investigate it. Kate kept looking at me as if she also remembered me but so far I couldn't place her yet but then she pulled her hair backwards and I remembered. My heart started racing for a second with the thought of a traitor on board. This Kate woman, or whatever her real name would be, was navy and not just any navy but the officer who had arrested me and then handed me over to the cops. "You're the driver of the boat," I said to her, trying to sound as flat as I could be. "Well, bring us to the island as fast as you can," I ordered. She didn't say anything, just nodded and left the room, followed by Doug. I didn't mind about that because I needed to ask Al and Frank some questions first. From the way she looked at me I knew she had recognised me as well but I would deal with her later.

"Al," I said friendly. "How long have you known Kate?" Al sat down, a bit uncomfortable as if he could feel my irritation. "A couple of weeks," he answered me insecurely. "A couple?" I asked. "As in two, three or more like eight?" Al shrugged and tried to avoid eye contact. "Something like that," he started to stutter. "Like what?" I asked him a bit more sternly. "Like uh, like eight weeks or so," Al answered. "And how did she get in touch with us?" I wondered. If I could find out where she came from I would be a lot wiser. "Doug asked around for a boat and a friend of his knew Kate," Al answered as quick as he could, still thinking _he_ was the one in trouble. "Aha," I sighed. "And do you know anything about Kate? Do you know where she comes from? What kind of work she does?" I kept on asking. Al started to wiggle in his seat, probably not knowing what he should answer me there.

Al started to irritate me. He didn't seem to know much about Kate or what was going on. "Get me Frank," I ordered him. As fast as he could Al stood up and went to fetch Frank. I started to wonder how nobody seemed to know who Kate really was. Had they never realised she had been prying? Had she ever had the opportunity to get private information? "What is it you want me for?" Frank asked me. "Ah, sit down," I said, still invitingly. "I want to know a little bit more about Kate. What do you know about her?" I asked him. Frank shrugged. "You should ask Doug. He is the one who knows her best. They've been dating," he answered. "Dating?" I asked disbelievingly. I put my hand in front of my eyes. This was even worse than I had thought. "What do we know about her?" I asked again. Frank shrugged as well. "We checked her out. She has no record, rents out her boat to wealthy men. That's about what I know about her," he said.

It was time to interrogate Doug a bit more when said man came down from the helm. "We're about fifteen minutes away from the island," he said, unaware I was about to lose my trust in him. "Thank you. Get Al ready to get the drugs," I ordered him before I looked at Frank. "You help them," I said. Doug started on his task and I knew whatever I needed to know about Kate had to wait until after the drugs was on board.

I stayed behind on the boat with Kate while the men were on the island getting the drugs. Kate made sure she wasn't in the same room with me and had used the free time downstairs, making the beds and doing other little, probably unnecessary, chores. We only had to wait for about an hour when the men came back in the dinghy, which we still hadn't dodged, and started to offload the drugs. I kept an eye on Kate while she helped bringing the drugs down to one of the rooms. I still wasn't a hundred per cent sure she was the one who had blabbed but who else could it have been? I had almost killed her lover, she was a successful navy officer. Why would she give that up to become a drug runner? She most definitely was living a double life but was she a navy person impersonating a drug runner or was she a drug runner impersonating a navy person? I would soon find out.

"Doug, Kate, when you're done could you please come up here?" I asked while I made myself a cup of coffee. Frank walked by and looked suspiciously towards the stairs leading down to the bedrooms. "Something wrong boss?" he asked me. "Nah, what would be wrong? I want you to dodge the dinghy and then steer the boat to international waters, full speed," I ordered him. He looked at me, bewildered. "I know," I started. "It's not the original plan. Just do it," I told him grimly.

A few minutes passed but then the two people I hadn't talked to came up. Doug had no idea yet but Kate was getting pretty nervous. "Have a cup of coffee," I offered them both. Doug accepted the offer gratefully but Kate wasn't so thirsty it seemed. "I heard you two are dating," I started the conversation as if nothing was going on. Kate nodded but Doug beamed. "Oh yeah," he said. "I'm always curious where my people come from," I continued. "I know Doug but where do you come from Kate?" I directed my question at her. "Melb- Melbourne," she answered. "Great city," I smiled which probably made her even more insecure. Doug started to notice her insecurity and slid towards her to put his arm around her. It was cute but I wondered how long it would stay there after Doug found out she wasn't all she seemed to be. The personal questions could also wait until later. Who cared where she came from? "I've been asking Al and Frank earlier if they know anything about the information that the cops seem to have about us," I said, now looking at Doug.

The man was as surprised as could be. It even threw me off guard. Doug was good in portraying innocence but would he be that good to fool _me_? Kate had somehow found herself a poker face and I couldn't tell if she was scared or not anymore. Was she really this good? Had she been able to fool Doug around for weeks? When had she had the opportunity to get information and _which_ information did she get? "I really don't know what you're talking about boss," Doug said vehemently. "Have you been talking to anyone?" I asked him. "No!" he almost yelled at me. "OK, keep your shirt on," I stopped him. "Have you talked to Kate about it?" I asked. Doug looked at the woman sitting next to him and shrugged. "I told her," he sighed. "Uh, I," Doug suddenly stuttered. I knew he had told her too much but that still didn't answer the question of _what_ he had told her. "He told me things I needed to know. I figured out a lot myself," Kate answered.

She sounded very convincingly and even dared to look me in my eyes again. "So, what have you figured out yourself?" I asked her. Kate shrugged. "That the fish he was trying to catch was nothing like the sea food you can buy at any fish and chips shop. The drugs is produced on the island and then brought to Rooster who distributes it but the best thing I figured out is that drug dealers are humans too. The cops make you, _us_, look like a bunch of criminals with no conscience," she said proudly. _How touching_ she was including herself in this whole business. It was time to figure out how much of this was plain show and what was real. "And when did you decide to come over to the criminal side?" I asked her. She wanted to shrug and answer but I beat her with my question: "It wasn't too long ago when you were working in the navy, catching _us_ criminals. In fact you've been catching _me_."

I wasn't interested in her reaction. I wanted to see how Doug responded on this news. He looked at Kate in disbelieve and forced her to look at him. "Navy?" he almost whispered. "You never mentioned that," he added. "Oh yeah. Did she mention I almost killed her boyfriend?" I asked to make the situation even more awkward. "Boyfriend?" Doug said a bit louder now. "Mike Flynn," I said while I looked at Kate's face. Her security was crumbling away and she knew her time was almost up. "Yeah I worked in the navy," she tried. "But after you almost killed Mike I didn't want to be part of that anymore," she said but Doug grabbed her wrists and didn't wait until she was finished talking. "Mike!" he yelled at her. "You told me he was just a good friend," Doug continued while with every word his voice raised another notch. "You lied. He _is_ your boyfriend isn't he?" Doug asked with a heated face.

Kate tried to free her wrists and get away from Doug but he was like a pit-bull and wouldn't let go that easily. "What have you told them?" he demanded to know. "I think she told them everything you told her," I said amusingly. Doug was forgetting his own role in this mess and thought that punishing Kate would be sufficient. Doug let go of Kate and looked at me alarmingly. "I didn't tell her _that_ much? I never told her anything about the jail break," he defended himself. I looked from Doug to Kate and back to Doug. "And has she ever had the opportunity to find out?" I asked him sternly. Doug wanted to say 'no' but he waited and thought for a second. "Oh god, the coffee!" he exclaimed. He totally forgot I was the one demanding answers and he grabbed Kate's arm this time. "You lied. You lied about everything," he screamed at her. "I hope you had fun," he spat at the woman who was seemingly afraid now. "No sex before marriage! The lump in your breast! The cosy dinner with Mike," he spat, totally disgusted.

I didn't know what Doug was talking about but he was all fired up now. He got up to his feet and dragged Kate with him. "He was here on this boat wasn't he. Your _boyfriend_," he threw her on the floor before he grabbed Kate's hair. "I loved you. I waited for you to be ready to have sex with me and in the meantime you just did _that_ with that ugly guy. Well, I'm not going to wait any longer," he screamed at her. I looked at the two persons, one fighting to get free and the other enraged and about to claim whatever he was refused before. Kate was screaming now too which attracted the attention of Al and Frank but this was a fight between Doug and Kate and Doug should be allowed to finish this. "Go back," I ordered the other two men when they showed their faces. While Doug pushed Kate towards the stairs she was scratching, biting, pushing and kicking but Doug was angry and a lot stronger. When he would be ready with Kate he would have to face his own consequences. I poured myself another cup of coffee while I heard Doug shut a door downstairs. It didn't help much against the screaming and the pleads Kate had started to utter but she should have known better than to tell Doug any lies, tell _us_ any lies. _Women, you could never trust them!_


	25. XXV Kate

**Kate**

My whole body hurt after Doug raped me. He had been such a nice guy to me and someone who seemed to be really in love with me. Not someone who would do something like _this_. After his _business_ he had simply gotten off the bed, whispered something degrading to me and left the room, just as angry as he was when he had entered it. I was afraid someone else would get a go with me now and would come down any minute but the seconds turned longer and longer and I didn't hear anyone come down. My problem wasn't over yet. We were in the middle of the ocean and there was no place for me to run to, nor anywhere to hide. Cavanaugh had recognised me and finally figured out it was me who had passed on valuable information. He was having a go at Doug right this minute. I could hear Cavanaugh scream at the top of his lungs but where were Al and Frank and what were they doing right now?

I was still curled up on the bed, too hurt to be able to move, and all I could do was listen to what was going on upstairs. The screaming had stopped and was replaced by a deafening silence. This was even more frightening because whatever was going to happen now I had no clue. The thought of Al or Frank or even worse, Cavanaugh coming down and doing the same thing to me as what Doug had done made me sick. I tried to sit up, forgetting the pain it caused, and slide off the bed to go to the bathroom. I reached the toilet bowl just in time to empty my stomach above it. The bad taste in my mouth was the least of my worries but also the one I could easily fix. I pushed myself up on the sink, trying not to feel the pain in my body. Suddenly everything seemed to be hard to do and even turning on the water tap was more difficult. I let out a sob and mistakenly looked in the mirror. Doug had been pulling my hair and strands of it were hanging loosely halfway down my shoulders.

Carefully I removed the loose pieces of hair after I looked at my image in the mirror once again. Several bruises were already forming in my face and my lip was cut. Softly I touched it before I cleaned it with a cloth and some cold water. I so wanted to take a shower and clean myself completely but I knew that wouldn't be wise. I needed to go to the hospital where they could perform a medical assessment to determine Doug's DNA on my body. I hoped I would ever make it to the hospital in the first place because I wasn't so sure I would. Doug had once told me that if I ever became a liability he would have to kill me. Cavanaugh knew from experience what would happen if you let eye witnesses live. My only chance would be that the feds and the navy would show up pretty soon. _The navy. Mike!_ He would never want me after this even if he knew I had put up a fight and tried to stop Doug. _The feds. The cameras!_ I had to get out of the bathroom because that was one of the areas where there wasn't one and they couldn't see me anymore.

I stumbled back towards the bedroom where I sat down on the bed. I didn't know where the camera was exactly but this was the same bed they had once filmed me on while I was fooling around with Mike. _Mike_. I tried to sit a bit differently because my lower abdomen hurt while I was in this position. Then I remembered I had my phone in my back pocket. I took it out and dialled the number I knew so well. It rang a couple of times before I heard the voice of the man I loved. "Kate," he said happily. "Are you back in town? Did you get my text?" he asked me. Suddenly I didn't know what to say anymore. Hearing his voice was enough. "Kate?" he asked. "Mike," I said although it was barely more than a whisper. "Kate? Where are you? Is everything alright?" he asked me. I started to cry. No not everything was alright! I was out in the middle of the ocean with a bunch of angry crooks and – "I'm hmm rrraped," I uttered. "Mike, he-" I tried but a sob took over. "Oh God, Kate," Mike said tenderly. "Where are you?" he asked again. "Mmm Mike, th- th- they're g-g-g-oing to k-k-kill-" Mike didn't let me finish. "No! They're not! The feds are nearby there's a patrol boat nearby. If you're out at sea help isn't far away," he assured me.

I wondered if he could see me on his radar or if he was just trying to comfort me. It was almost working until I heard footsteps coming down. "Oh," I sobbed. "I love you. Mike I love you," I said. "I love you too and we're on our way. Hang on a little longer," he said before I pressed his call away. I needed to hide the phone somewhere but the idea that someone would come down any second and would let me go through everything again made me freeze. I wanted to get up and stand tall but I couldn't find the power to do so. The phone slipped out of my hand and fell on the floor. I was just smart enough to kick it under the bed before Cavanaugh opened the door and stood there as a fearless leader.

"Kate, Kate, Kate," he kept repeating my name while he came closer to the bed. I was scared he would strike me as soon as he was in reach or he would throw me backwards on the bed and take me but he just came closer step by step and finally sat down next to me as if he was a good friend who was about to comfort me. "You've got yourself in a bit of strive, haven't you," he said in a friendly tone. My breathing was irregular and I felt my muscles spasm throughout my body. "You should have known better than to work for cops and think you could get away scot free," he said without waiting for a reply from me. "You could end up like Doug," he said while he pointed at a window. My breathing became heavier but I was still unable to reply. "Oh you see. Doug has become shark meat. I don't like people who forget to do their job while they're working on their personal interests. He slightly forgot the goal of our job while he was fooling around with you," he quietly stated. I looked at him and saw the cool and collected drug boss he was. One wrong word and I would be shark meat as well.

Cavanaugh stroked the bruise on my cheek and then put a strand of my hair behind my ear. "It's such a waste of a pretty woman you know," he said while he kept stroking parts of my body. "You know you look like someone I know from my past?" he asked me. I wanted to vocalise my answer but didn't come any further than to shake my head. "Well you do," Cavanaugh said gently. "We were engaged. She looked just like you. Blonde hair, green eyes, slim body. Brains and beauty combined in one," he said remembering the woman he was describing. "Her name was Maggie and she was the most wonderful person I've ever known but you know what?" he asked me sounding already a bit harsh. I shook my head again while Cavanaugh continued. "The cops killed her," he said, making every word short and hateful. "It's strange to know someone as similar to Maggie was about to turn me in to the cops. Well, you understand I can't let that happen," he said, sounding gentle again.

I knew it. My final hour had come. I closed my eyes and thought about a happy place and being around the people I love. I was waiting for Cavanaugh to get his gun ready and kill me but nothing happened and when I finally opened my eyes I looked into his smiling face. "You thought you were getting off this easily?" he asked me seriously. I still wasn't able to say much and shrugged. "Hah. You thought you could tell the cops about my operation and get a simple bullet through your head? Are you serious?" he asked me. I shook my head and wondered what else he had in store for me. _I love you too and we're on our way. Hang on a little longer._ The words of Mike kept ringing in my ears. I had to hang on. I shouldn't give up. I was not going to let myself be killed. Not without a fight! "Before you get your ending I need some answers," Cavanaugh said to me.

Suddenly we both heard footsteps on the stairs and Cavanaugh turned around to see who was entering the room. "Frank," he said cheerfully when he saw the ginger top man enter the room. "What do you think? She isn't as pretty as she was a couple of hours ago but would you still have a go?" he teased the man. The knot in my stomach tightened a little bit. Cavanaugh was talking about me as if I was a sex toy. It was the first time in minutes I was able to move and the first thing I did was place my hand in front of my chest. "No," I uttered. Cavanaugh looked at me and started laughing. "She thinks she has a say in it," he said to Frank. "Well, I'm not going to have her. If Al wants her he can. She just doesn't do it for me," he stated. If the men thought they were insulting me they were wrong. For once I didn't care about what a man thought about me. "Well, he has to wait until we're done asking her some questions. Did you bring the stuff I asked you?" Cavanaugh asked Frank.

I looked at the younger man and wondered what he had been asked to bring along. I hadn't paid attention to it before but now I saw he had tape and rope in his hands. He showed it to Cavanaugh and stepped forward towards me. "Well, tie her up," Cavanaugh ordered. Frank put down the tape and pulled the rope. What was he going to do with the tape? They wouldn't tape my mouth shut if they wanted me to talk. Frank had almost reached me and was about to grab my arm but whatever they were going to do to me I wasn't going to allow it. I had to try and get away so I stood up and moved away from the two men. "You're finally going to put up a fight?" Cavanaugh asked while he got up himself and grabbed my arm.

I screamed out in pain since he pressed the exact same spot where Doug had held me down. Cavanaugh pulled me back on the bed and got hold of my chin. He pressed his fingers firmly into another bruise which was forming on my face and I could do nothing else but shriek. "Please," I begged. In one violent go Cavanaugh let go of me which made me go off balance. I ended up on the mattress, face down, and felt how one of the men pulled back my arms to be tied on my back. I kicked and fought myself back up and was able to crawl further onto the mattress, away from the men. "No," I screamed.

Not much sound came from my mouth but enough so the men knew I wasn't agreeing. Not that they cared. While Frank pulled a wooden chair from the corner Cavanaugh pulled me at one of my legs until he had his face right above mine. "You want me to ask Al to come down?" he threatened. I knew what he meant with that but I wasn't going to show him it scared me. "Now, sit down," he ordered me while he pulled me towards the chair. One more time I tried to get away from him but then he hit me hard in my face. "Sit," he shouted at me. I wanted to comfort the burning cheek and Frank took advantage of that by pulling that hand behind my back and tie it to my other hand. Not long after that I was tied to the chair and pulled towards the bed where Cavanaugh sat down across from me. "Let's start from the beginning," he said calmly. "You're a navy chick who's spying for the cops. Am I right so far?" he asked me.

Frank was standing behind me and I saw Cavanaugh signalling towards him. I just couldn't figure out what they meant until he pulled me backwards at my hair. "Ouch," I yelled. The hairs still attached to my scalp had had enough pulling for one day. "Ok, ok," I said hoping Frank would let go of my hair. "It's true," I admitted. Frank let go of my hair but it wasn't over yet. "You told them about the plans," Cavanaugh said. He wasn't very specific and I needed to try and stall some time somewhere. The feds must be on their way right now. It wouldn't be long for sure. "I told them about Doug," I said, knowing the man was history already. "And?" Cavanaugh asked me. I tried to shrug which was hard being all tied up. "What else is there to tell?" I asked him. "I can't tell the cops anything I don't know," I challenged him. Cavanaugh thought for a second but then pulled his arm back and hit me hard in my ribs. "That wasn't smart Katie dear," he said while I tried to catch my breath.

My ribs hurt like hell and breathing suddenly was very hard but Cavanaugh didn't stop. "What else did you tell the cops?" he barked at me. Even if I wanted to answer his question I couldn't because I was in too much pain to say anything. I felt tears falling down my face and I couldn't stop thinking about what he would do if I didn't answer him quickly. "I," I tried to say but nothing else came out. "Answer him," Frank said while he kept tapping my head with his knuckles. "I. I t-t-told th-them about the island," I answered. I ended up with another blow towards the other side of my ribs. I even thought I heard something crack and by the amount of pain it could very well mean a broken rib or two. "If you told them about the island they know about the drugs. They know about this trip, don't they?" Cavanaugh wanted to know. I was out of breath and all I wanted was to comfort my battered body but I couldn't. Cavanaugh let me catch some breath and waited a little longer than the previous time before he leaned forwards to intimidate me. "Are you going to answer me?" he dared me.

My arms were hurting from the position they were in. My head was hurting from the blows Doug, Frank and Cavanaugh had given me and the hair pulling they used to get me to answer. My ribs were bruised and broken and pressing against my lungs which made it harder to breath. My stomach hurt from Doug's rough handling and my thighs must be bleeding. They felt warm and sticky but nothing of that was going to stop me from fighting to stay alive because I knew my rescue was near. I had to hold on just a little longer. "OK," Cavanaugh said, breathing in my face. "This is how it works. I'll ask you a question and you provide me with an answer," he said. I nodded and wanted to say something when Al came running down. "The navy!" he said, sounding scared. "They're coming."

If I could I would have smiled. It wouldn't be long now before I would be in a wardroom, being taken care of and on my way to hospital. Cavanaugh looked alarmed and seemed to forget me for a second. He walked around me and left the room to go and see my arriving colleagues for himself. Frank stayed behind with me and took Cavanaugh's place. "How did they find us so quickly?" he asked me aggressively. I didn't answer him. I just had to hold on for a few more minutes. "How?" he demanded before he hit me in my face. The chair tilted slightly but came down on its legs again. "One more time. How did they find us?" Frank yelled at me. I looked him in his face and smiled. "Because they're a lot smarter than you will ever be," I answered him. It was my first full sentence I could speak but it aggravated Frank so much that he hit me until the chair lost balance and I hit the floor. It all went black and the sounds I heard were far away. I did see two feet standing next to my face. Not very clear because I couldn't seem to open my eyes properly. "Stupid moron. Now she's dead," I heard Cavanaugh say before he pushed Frank away from me. The pain started to subside and it felt good. "I'm not taking the blame for that," one of the men said. I couldn't figure out who it was. "You killed her," the other said. The last part I could hardly hear. _No I'm not. I'm not dead yet_ was the last thing I thought before it all went completely black.


	26. XXVI Maxine

**Maxine**

It wasn't a pretty picture. Yesterday the HMAS Broome had brought back Kate to Cairns. She was rushed to hospital with multiple fractures, bruises and lacerations. We had been able to break the drug syndicate and the feds had arrested all the involved criminals. A drug lab, hidden on an island, was dismantled and more arrests would follow after everything would become crystal clear. Kate had been the lynchpin in this all. She was the one who had given the feds the much needed information. Kate had sailed out with the criminals to give the feds the exact location of their whereabouts. It all had been a huge success but I couldn't join in the celebrations because the one who had been such an important figure in this all had just died.

Early this morning I had gone to the hospital to check on Kate but even before I reached her room I was stopped by a doctor who told me the sad news. Kate had suffered internal bleeding and had died only an hour before I arrived in hospital. It just wasn't fair that she had to die because how could it be fair? Kate McGregor was a promising officer who would have made it far. She was a woman who loved her work and finally seemed to have found personal love as well. The doctor sat down with me for a while and told me everything I wanted to know but when I asked him if I could see Kate and say goodbye to her he told me it wasn't possible. Just as I was about to ask the question why I got the news of the arrival of the Hammersley. I needed to go down to the docks and meet Kate's former crew and tell them the terrible news myself. I thanked the doctor for his time and left the hospital.

And there I was, standing at the gangplank of the Hammersley, with lead in my shoes. Anyone who saw me and knew me would be able to read my face and tell that I was about to bring bad news. "Maxine," Mike greeted me happily. "I was on my way to you. I hope you don't mind me rushing off but I really need to go to hospital and see-" he finally noticed my pale face and stopped talking to grab my shoulders. "Maxine. Everything is alright, isn't it?" he asked a bit cautious. I swallowed away some saliva and touched his upper arm. "Can we talk in your cabin?" I asked. Mike nodded and turned around, still not really aware what he was going to hear but I followed him and entered the small CO's cabin. "Please take a seat," I tried to say as calm as I could. Mike knew me better and shook his head. "I don't want to sit down Maxine," he said, realising I was about to ruin his day.

I could understand he didn't want to sit down so I pulled out his chair from under his desk and sat down myself. "It's Kate isn't it?" Mike asked me. I slowly nodded and looked sorrowfully at him. "They had to transfer her to another hospital, right? Something happened and they couldn't help her at the hospital here. Correct?" he asked me almost pleadingly. I stood up and held his wrists while I took another step to get close to him. "No Mike. She died," I told him. There was no easier way to tell him this. I wished there was. "No," he said vehemently. "I talked to the CO of the HMAS Broome and she was stable when they brought her to hospital yesterday. I called the doctor this morning and nothing had changed. Kate can't be dead. You're wrong," he said in total panic.

I could feel his pain. The feeling of his heart being ripped out of his chest and the empty whole that it would leave. Mike looked at me heartbreakingly in a hope I would tell him it wasn't the truth. "I'm sorry Mike," I said. He started to breath short breaths and tremble while he tried to form words. I guided him to his rack and forced him to sit down. "She died early this morning after internal bleeding," I said softly. Mike just sat on the edge of his rack, battling with his emotions. I decided to sit down as well and let him know it was OK to let his emotions run freely. I put my arm around his shoulder and comforted him. "We were going to be together," he whispered. "I got that much. You two have kept it a secret for a long time, haven't you?" I asked him. He looked a bit alarmed at me but I shook my head. "It's alright. I wished I had known it earlier. I would have told her to talk to you first before she would accept her role with the feds. It's so unfair you two never really had the chance to be together," I said while I patted his arm.

Mike finally was able to let go of a sob but tried to talk at the same time. "Yeah," I sighed. He looked at me and got off his rack. "I want to see her," he said. "I want to say goodbye to her." I exhaled loudly and shook my head. "Mike, you want to remember her the way she was. The beautiful woman she had become. You don't want to remember her battered face. I've seen her yesterday and it wasn't a good thing," I told him. He couldn't control his emotions anymore and kicked the wall to relieve some anger. He looked at me and sat down again. Mike was crying now and all I could do was to take him in my arms and rock him while he let go of his emotions. I couldn't help but cry as well and for a few minutes that's what we did until he pulled himself together and looked at me. "She called me," he told me. I didn't know when she had called him but I hoped they both had cleared away some of the creases in their relationship. "On the boat. She was- Someone had just-" he tried to say but something didn't want to come out.

Kate had been able to call him? The two feds I had to deal with had told me Kate had broken off all communications with us for the time she was working for them. The only reason why I knew about the operation was because the navy was involved in catching the crooks. I hadn't talked to Kate and had thought Mike hadn't either so had she really been able to contact him yesterday? _Oh God_! She called him after she was raped? Was that what Mike was unable to say? "She called you?" I said amazed, with a thick voice.

Mike wiped away a few tears and looked at me. He took a deep breath before he could speak again. "She said she loved me," he said with big smile on his face but then it disappeared. "I told her I loved her too and that she had to hold on," he told me before a loud sob followed. "She needed us. We weren't fast enough," he cried, looking up to the ceiling. I took him in my arms again. "Don't do this Mike. We were there in time. She was still alive when the boarding party arrived," I told him. Mike pushed me away, angrily. "Then why is she dead? When I talked to her they had just raped her but she was still conscious. She was scared Maxine. She heard the men coming down to her and she knew what they wanted to do. We should have been there before they raped her before they had a chance to beat her up. Don't tell me we were there in time," Mike spat at me.

Maybe he was right. If we had been there sooner she wouldn't have to go through all the pain they had caused her. "There will be an investigation into her death. Mike," I said while I forced him to look at me. "Her death won't be in vain. We'll let everybody know how courageous she was and a great woman. We'll all have to learn from the mistakes we made this time so it will never happen again," I admitted. Mike calmed down a bit and sat on his rack, forlornly. "Mike," I softly said after a minute of silence. "We need to tell the rest of the crew. You think you're up to it or do you want me to tell them?" I asked him. He shook his head which didn't make it any clearer to what he wanted but then he slowly got up and straightened his uniform. "I'll tell them," he said, almost inaudible. Before he left his cabin he turned around and looked at me. "I don't even know what she wanted. Do you know if she's going to be buried or cremated?" he asked me. it made it all so real. I had tried to stay away from thinking that far ahead but I stroked his arm and was happy I could answer his question. "She's going to be buried in four days."

A week later I had to make the hard decision to send the Hammersley out to work again. It was going to be hard on everyone but especially for Mike. Everyone knew now he had been in love with Kate and that they had waited for her to be transferred off the ship so their romance could start but officially seen he was only her CO. He wasn't entitled to compassionate leave or anything. The crew would support each other and even Amber Wildebeast was included in the group moments. She would be fine as the new XO although I had to start all over to find a new CO. For the time being it would be Mike. Being at sea would also help him get over his grieve.

Just as I had been awaiting the Hammersley when they docked a week ago I wanted to send them off. Show some moral support but when I arrived at the docks it turned out Mike wasn't at the ship. Everyone I talked to told me some cock and bull story to cover up where he really was. The only one not joining was RO. He was working at the bridge but momentarily stopped to answer me. "He's visiting the grave," he said, causing some angry glares from his colleagues. "Please don't be hard on him, ma'am," he pleaded. I stopped, amazed at his request, and looked at the man questioningly. "Why would I do that?" I asked him. RO shrugged. "He should be here by now," he said while he looked at his watch. "He was only going to be away for half an hour but I think he finds it harder to say goodbye to her," he explained. I didn't know what to say to the sailor. He was right. Mike would find it extremely difficult to say goodbye to her even if it was a grave. As his CO I should reprimand him but like RO had implied, it wasn't that Mike was running away from his work. He just had to do this _to be able_ to work but I couldn't say that.

While I left the bridge I heard Swain and Charge rip into RO for being honest. I left the Hammersley and drove to the graveyard, overlooking the ocean. There, at Kate's flower covered grave, I found Mike, kneeling down at the temporarily cross with Kate's name on it. As soon as he saw me he got up and started excusing himself for not being at his job but I put my hand on his shoulder and shook my head. "It's OK Mike," I told him. "Take your time." He sighed, relieved, and looked back down at the cross. "It was a beautiful service but I still can't believe she's really gone," he said to me without looking my way. I looked down at the grave and knew exactly what he was talking about. "She'll always be in my heart. She's safe there," Mike whispered. I smiled hoping my smile would hide my tears which were burning behind my eyes. "You know Max," Mike said a bit more secure. "Kate was never afraid of the consequences of her actions. I think she was scared of this operation though. She didn't want to finish it but they made her. They had evidence of our relationship and were going to show it to you. She was scared but she had a healthy work ethic. She had started this job and wanted to finish it," he told me.

Mike looked at me before he got a piece of paper out of his pocket and placed it against the cross. "I'll go to the Hammersley now and work. Could you do something for me?" he asked. Whatever it was going to be I was going to comply. "What?" I asked him gently. "Could you visit her every day and take care of the grave while I'm gone?" he asked. "Of course," I answered. "I'll take care of that," I added. Mike thanked me and walked away, leaving me behind. I was a bit curious to what he had written down on the card and as soon as Mike was out of sight I picked it up and read it. It brought tears to my eyes. There were just a few lines written down on it. It felt like prying and I wanted to put the note down but I kept reading the lines over and over.

_Where ever I am you'll be there too._

_You're in my heart, forever_

_I love you always._

_Mike_


	27. XXVII Mike

**Mike – 5 years later**

Amber had gotten her promotion to Lieutenant Commander not even a week ago. She was the CO of Hammersley now and seemed to love it but all of a sudden she was asked to apply for a job in Canberra. The Brass must really like her, maybe just as much as I do, and now we were here for her interview. She had to make a choice where she wanted to be working the next few years. In Cairns, as the CO of Hammersley, or in Canberra at the intel position, the position she had been raving about for a week now. If I had to be honest I hoped she wouldn't get it.

We had been together now for the past two years and were happily living together in Cairns. We both had our work and friends there and I didn't want to give up on that. It had taken me long enough to get my life back in order after Kate's death. That was five years ago now and I didn't want to start all over again somewhere else. Cairns, for that matter, was my last link to Kate. The friends I have there were Kate's friends too. Even the thought alone of moving to Canberra frightened me because I didn't want a life where Kate was reduced to a picture or a memory.

Amber knew Kate was somehow still part of me. She isn't jealous at all and gives me all the time I need to get over Kate. I think that is one of the main reasons why we get along so well together. Sometimes I wished I could forget about Kate altogether so I could finally give all my heart to Amber. She is so worth it! She's very special to me and I love her to bits. I'm even thinking about asking her to marry me. I'm just waiting for the right moment to pop the question. It's my ultimate way of showing her that she's the only one I want to grow old with. The only thing I just really wish is that we could do that in Cairns.

Right now we were enjoying an extra day in Canberra before we are due back at Navcom. I'd promised Amber a day of shopping and couldn't believe how much she was enjoying it. She dragged me into numerous shops and made the biggest attack on my credit card since we bought her a car last year. I saw the amount of bags grow with every shop we went to. I too had gotten new clothes and socks and such but mainly we looked at stuff and enjoyed the time spent together. I was glad Amber agreed on a little break and right now we were sitting down at a restaurant in the middle of the shopping centre. I had ordered some food and was patiently waiting for it. Amber had gone to the ladies to 'powder her nose' and in the meantime I looked around, watching the people pass by.

Suddenly I saw a toddler wandering alone. A little boy with blonde hair was standing all by himself and was desperately looking around for his mummy. The fact he was alone wasn't the only reason why he had attracted my attention. He reminded me of someone. He reminded me of Kate. He looked so much like her he could be her son! I got up and walked towards him. By now he had started crying while he kept looking around to find his lost mother. "Hey little fella. What's your name?" I asked him while I levelled down next to him. He looked at me through his glassy eyes and momentarily stopped crying before a new batch of tears started rolling down his face. "I want my mummy," he sobbed.

I looked around to see if I could see a woman searching for her missing child. She couldn't be that far away, I thought. "Hey little man. You're missing your mummy huh? My name is Mike. What does your mummy call you?" I tried again. The little boy shrugged and continued sobbing while he looked around the shopping centre. I did the same but there was still no sign of a woman searching until the little boy started looking in the direction of the bookstore not too far away from us. "Can you see mummy?" I asked him. "Mummy," he said while he pointed at a woman near the store. She was just as blonde as the boy and it looked like she finally realised she was missing her child. "Ma'am," I called out to her. "Is this your child?" I asked. The woman turned around and with doing so my breath stocked. I was looking at Kate! "Mummy is here," she said while she hurried to the little boy, kneeled down to him, and took him in her arms.

I looked at the woman who was cuddling her child and all I could think of was that she hadn't changed much. Her voice still sounded crystal clear and she was still as beautiful as I remembered her. She had cut her hair differently and it wasn't as blonde as I remembered but my heart started beating just a tad faster by simply looking at her. She didn't seem to recognise me although she had her eyes fixed on her son and didn't even look at me but I guess she must have seen me while she had turned around. "Kate," I said while I softly touched her arm. She looked up and gave me a puzzled look. "I'm sorry?" she said. "I think you're mistaken. My name is not Kate. Thank you for staying with my son. He must have slipped off my radar for a second. Do you have children?" she asked. I couldn't say anything, too gobsmacked by the situation, so I just shook my head. "Well, they do this all the time," she smiled while getting up and taking the boy with her. "Michael, say thank you to this nice man. We're going back to daddy," she said. Before I could say or ask her anything she walked away leaving me behind.

Amber reached me not much later. I hadn't moved an inch and I could see it scared her to see me like this. "Are you alright?" she asked me. I nodded and looked at the residing woman one last time. _His name was Michael. She had used the word 'radar' and as much as she wanted me to believe she wasn't Kate I knew she was. She had to be!_ "Mike who was that? Is something wrong?" Amber asked a little bit more concerned this time. "I'm fine," I answered. It wasn't the complete truth but what else could I say. We were in the middle of a shopping centre. "Let's forget about lunch and go home," I suggested. Amber agreed and with all our bags we went back to our hotel.

Two days later I stormed into Maxine's office. "You have to tell me the truth," I demanded. Maxine looked up from her paperwork and put her pen down. "What can I help you with Mike," she said with a calm voice as if she hadn't heard my first request. "The truth," I repeated. Maxine started smiling and offered me the vacant chair in her office. "Amber won't be getting the position in Canberra and will stay on as Hammersley's CO. I guess that'll make you happy but it is probably not why you stormed in here," she told me. She gave me a questioning look and then put her chair closer to the desk. "Why don't you tell me what you want to know and please start at the beginning. Just take your time," she said.

I took a deep breath and looked at her intently. "I want to know the truth about Kate McGregor," I stated. "I can handle it, honestly," I promised her. I saw Maxine's face turn pale. She most definitely hadn't suspected this request at all. I didn't – couldn't – blame her. In the past five years we hadn't talked about Kate that much and in the last – what – two years not at all. "The truth," Maxine said to compose herself again. "What do you want to know that you don't know already?" she asked. "I want to know the _truth_ this time. You told me she's dead but I saw her in Canberra two days ago," I told her.

Maxine looked perplexed. She swallowed and bit her lip before she dared to look at me again. "You better close the door," she said, looking at the object. I got up and did what she asked. I hoped she was going to tell me now the past five years had been a lie and that, now I had discovered the truth, she would tell me where I could find Kate. I was confused when Maxine finally started talking. "As far as I know she is dead. Face it Mike. Kate McGregor doesn't exist anymore. I know you two were in love and that you've had a hard time getting over her death but I can't change the fact she's gone." I shook my head and felt tears burning in my eyes. "No!" I exclaimed. Maxine got up and moved to my side of the desk. She took my hands in hers and forced me to look into her eyes. "I'm sorry. I can't make the truth less painful," she said.

I had to wipe away a falling tear and tried as hard as I could to stop the others from falling down and making a fool of myself. "I do have to make a confession to you," she almost whispered. I quickly looked up to her and saw her guilty looking eyes. "When I went to see her in the hospital she was on life-support. She was badly injured and she was still unconscious. The feds wanted to move her to a safer place but couldn't do that at that point. When I came back the next day to visit her I was stopped by the doctor in the hallway. He told me she had passed away but I didn't see her for myself that day. The doctor was about to tell me why I couldn't when I got news you were about to arrive back in port. I needed to be there for you. I called the hospital back later that day and they said Kate had been put in her coffin which would be closed," Maxine told me.

I was in shock! Maxine hadn't seen Kate anymore? "Why didn't you tell me this earlier?" I asked her. I would have persuaded anyone at the hospital to show me her body. I had always assumed Maxine had been the one to identify Kate's body. "Because," Maxine said a bit hesitant before she took a deep breath. "I never thought about it at that time. Kate had been identified and I was more concerned about you. It wasn't until a while later when I realised there could be another reason why they didn't want me to see her anymore but I didn't want to upset you," Maxine said. She sighed again and looked at me. "She was badly hurt when they brought her to hospital but she was stable and I too had called the doctor earlier that morning and had heard her condition hadn't changed. At the time I never questioned the story about the internal bleeding but maybe it wasn't the complete truth and It could mean they moved her and that she didn't die and is still alive. Maybe they got her out of there after all and put her in witness protection," she added trying to convince herself - or me.

I leaned back at the chair and felt my stomach turn and turn. I didn't know if I should be happy of the possibility of Kate still being alive or angry of the fact Maxine had lied to me for five years. To me her story was proof enough Kate was still alive but it would also mean it wasn't wise to go and find her. I started to wonder if it hadn't been best if I had never seen Kate again. "Mike," Maxine said, caressing the back of my hand. "Kate is gone. If she's still alive she has a new identity and we shouldn't jeopardise her safety, don't you think?" she asked me but it sounded more like a warning. "She was a witness to a large drug syndicate. Because of her many crims were arrested, including Cavanaugh. He was, and probably still is, capable of organising crime from jail. We don't want him to finish –" but then Maxine stopped talking. "What? Finish her off?" I asked alarmed. Maxine nodded but I knew she had wanted to say something else.

Maxine had never told me much about the days or weeks that followed Kate's death and I had never asked questions. I was so heartbroken that I couldn't deal with any other bad news, but now I wanted to know. "The truth Maxine," I dared her. She sighed and looked at her own hands. "Like I said she was unconscious. She was a mess," she told me. It was my turn to offer some comfort and I got hold of Maxine's hand. I wanted to say she didn't have to continue if she didn't want to but she shook her head and went on telling what she'd never told me before. "I read the transcripts of her death inquiry. It is terrible to read what they did to her. There were cameras on that boat and they showed footage of it at the inquiry. Apparently they were still interrogating Kate when the navy arrived. Not Cavanaugh but the other man freaked out and hit Kate. She lost consciousness and Cavanaugh thought she was dead. He was angry and started fighting the other man. That's what the boarding party ran into. Cavanaugh didn't want Kate dead because he needed more information. He's in jail serving a life sentence with no possibility of parole. If he would ever find out Kate is still alive he would…," again Maxine stopped midsentence and looked at me.

Cavanaugh _would_ channel all his anger towards Kate if he ever found out she was alive or if he knew where she was right now. "I think the best thing we can do is to go on with our lives. If it's true Kate is still alive I wouldn't want to be responsible for her to be found by one of Cavanaugh's men," Maxine sighed. I agreed. I wanted to say so when Maxine continued. "Besides that. You've got your life with Amber now and I hope Kate has found happiness." I smiled. "She has a little boy so I guess she's married," I told her. While Maxine started smiling as well I sighed and thought about how different everything could have been. "I'm glad you never told me this before," I admitted. Maxine looked at me confused. "Why not?" she asked. I shrugged. "If you had told me this a few years ago I would have done anything to find out where Kate was. What would have happened to her if I had found her? She had gone through enough but because I didn't look for her she can live in safety and I suppose in happiness now. It took me a while to realise it but right now I'm happy too. I'm ready to move forward. Now I've seen Kate and saw she has been able to continue _her_ life I can put the past well and truly to rest," I answered.

Talking to Maxine had eased my anger, actually I had totally lost it. "Max, do you want to join Amber and me for dinner tonight?" I asked her. "That would be wonderful," she answered happily. "Are you sure you're happy about whatever happened with Kate," she asked me more seriously. "I mean, not happy as in what happened to her but happy on how it all worked out?" she explained her own question a bit. I shrugged. "It's easy to say I would have seen it differently but like I said; I can put Kate to rest now. She has what she always wanted and that makes me happy. Of course I would love to meet her again, tell her that it's OK. Are _you_ happy about it all?" I returned the question. Maxine nodded. "If it's true that the woman you met was Kate and she has a son and is married then I'm happy but what if she wasn't Kate?" she wondered. I got up from the chair and was about to get out of the office to go back to my own but I stopped and looked at Maxine. "No, it was Kate. Even if she wasn't I want to believe it was Kate. She isn't dead," I stated. "Can we expect you around seven tonight?" I asked before I reached the door. Maxine nodded. "See you then," I said and left.


	28. XXVIII ?

_**Kate* – 7 months later**_

I walked into the police station as fast as I could these days. It had been another hot summer's day and all I wanted was to go home and take a long cool bath. Just before I walked through the doors I took a quick look at my watch. Again, it seemed impossible these days for me to show up on time, I was running late. "Oh Mrs Callaghan," the young constables at the front desk said when I had almost reached her. "Alex called in just a minute ago. He was out on a job and is running late. He asked me to let you go up to his office so you can wait there," she said. I smiled and wiped away some beads of sweat from my head. "Good," I sighed. "Luckily I'm not the only one who's late." The constable handed me a visitors pass and, as in a reflex, wanted to show me where to go. "I have been here before," I laughed. "I do know my way to the sergeants office."

I walked towards the elevators where a few other people were waiting. This police station was the biggest I had ever been inside in and I remembered my first time here. I was quite intimidated. Nowadays I didn't mind coming here anymore. Although that had quite another reason. For years now I had nothing to do with crime or cops, only one excluded. My life was easy and relatively quiet but I would never complain about that.

By the time I reached the elevators there was only one man waiting to go up. I had the habit to give people a quick look over to be able to decide if I wanted to be in the same room with them. This man was fidgeting with his visitors pass and a piece of paper he had gotten from the front desk. He looked like another poor sod who came to report something missing or stolen. I pressed the button of the second elevator and waited while standing close to this man. He didn't look like a bad criminal to me so I wouldn't mind spending the thirty seconds it would take us to go up to the fourth floor but there was something else. His after shave brought back memories of the past. He used the same after shave that- _ no don't do this to yourself. Remember your hormones. You'll end up weeping like a young schoolgirl if you let yourself drift back to days past,_ I thought.

While I heard the ping, indicating one of the elevators had reached our floor and would open any second, I looked at the good smelling man anyway. My heart stopped beating for a second and I was nailed to the floor. The man, who hadn't been looking at me at all, walked into the elevator and turned around to face me. "Are you going up?" he asked me, holding the door. I nodded and stepped into the small area. While the doors closed behind me I looked up at the man and finally was able to say something. "Mike," I whispered.

Mike looked up and I saw his pretty smile appear on his face while the elevator went up. "Kate!" he exclaimed. No one had called me that in almost six years now but it felt so good to be once again called Kate. Before I knew it he hugged me and I wished the moment would never end. When we would arrive at the fourth floor we would have to pretend to not know each other. _I've got to stop the elevator. I want to tell him so many things. I need more time._ Then it hit me. I had to press the stop button. I tried to reach it but Mike was holding me too close to his body. "Mike," I panted. "Press the stop button, please," I begged. He first looked at me but then he pressed the button and the elevator came to a halt. "Thank you," I said happily before I looked at him again. He hadn't changed much and really looked good.

We looked at each other for a second before we hugged again. "Oh Kate, you really _are_ alive," he whispered in my ear before he put his hands around my shoulders and pushed me away a bit to give me some sort of an inspection. He looked so happy to see me, so different from when we met in the shopping centre. "I'm sorry I had to lie to you," I said but he shook his head. "Don't feel guilty. You had to but I _am_ glad to see you today. Wow, you look good!" he said approvingly. "And so-" he looked at my big baby bump. "Pregnant?" I teased him. We laughed at the joke. There was no way he could have missed my pregnancy. "Only five weeks to go," I told him proudly. I saw Mike wanted to say something but he just looked at me, mouth wide open and his eyes as wide as saucers. "You look good too," I said to keep the conversation going. It wouldn't be long before someone would realise the elevator had stopped and I wanted to be sure we had said all the things before we had to go our separate ways again.

I hadn't thought it or the emergency phone in the elevator started ringing. I looked at it, wishing it would shut up and let us have some time together. I knew one of us had to pick it up and explain what was going on but what were we going to say? _Yeah, Mike is my long lost lover and I wanted some time together with him before I'm off to my husband's desk to sit and wait for him to show up. _I couldn't say _that_. The phone rang again and Mike looked at me to see if I was going to pick it up. I sighed and took the horn in my hand. "Yeah," I said trying to sound just a bit desperate. "Mrs Callaghan?" I heard the constable from the front desk ask. "Is something wrong?" she asked. I didn't know what to tell her but then Mike took the phone out of my hand and said: "Hello. This is Mike Flynn. The woman lost her balance and must have pressed the button by accident. Is there any way we can get this thing going again?" he said.

For a second I was scared it was what he really wanted but he gave me a reassuring smile and shook his head to indicate he didn't want to be rescued any time soon. "Oh," he sighed. "So, how long is this going to take?" he wondered. Now I was interested as well. Was there some real technical problem? "We're fine. Just get the technicians to fix it," Mike added. I looked at him confused. Why did they need technicians? Couldn't they just press a button to make the elevator move again? Mike put the phone back against the wall and shrugged. "I guess we got what we wanted. There seems to be a real problem and they have to call the technical staff to come and fix it. It will take at least thirty minutes," he said. "Thirty minutes?" I asked alarmed. By that time Alex would be back and would worry. Thirty minutes standing in a small confined space was not something I had really anticipated. "You look worried. Wasn't this what you wanted?" Mike asked me a bit doubtful.

I had to sit down before I would answer that question. I had been the one to suggest to press a certain button to give us more time than why was I so worried right now? "I- No- No, I mean yes," I stammered. This was going great I thought sarcastically. Mike sat down next to me and looked at me questioningly. "Mike. I'm sorry," I started but he took it the wrong way. "I'm sorry too," he said defensively. "But we're going to be stuck here for at least thirty minutes if we want to or not," he added. I looked up at the ceiling before I looked at him. "That's not what I meant," I started. "I don't mind spending this time with you and it _is_ what I wanted. I just realised my husband will go frantic when he finds out I'm stuck in this elevator," I explained. Mike didn't say anything but took my hand and twisted my wedding band around my finger as if it would come off if he would twist it long enough. "You're married," he sighed. "Happily?" he asked.

I thought about Alex for a second and smiled. "Yes," I answered pensively. "Alex is a lovely man and our marriage is everything I ever dreamed of," I said without realising who I said it to. "Oh, I'm sorry," I said when I saw Mike's hurt face. "It took me a long time to get over you. There were days when I wished I _had_ died on that boat," I admitted. "And then I met Alex and he was just-" I thought for the right words to describe what Alex had meant to me, what he _does_ mean to me. "Are you married? Have you been able to move on?" I asked him instead. Mike kept playing with my wedding band but he started to smile. "Just recently. Well," he said dreamily. "Amber and I have been together for the past two years but last Christmas I asked her to marry me and she said yes."

When I had ran into Mike some seven months ago in the shopping centre I had taken Michael and sprinted to my car where I finally had burst into tears. I didn't want to cause any car accidents so I had stayed in the car park for a long time. Long enough to see Mike and a woman walking to a car. "I think I've seen her," I almost whispered. Mike looked at me quizzically. "At the shopping centre, well at the car park," I explained. "After I told you I wasn't me I had to sit and wait a long time to calm down again." Mike finally let go of my wedding band and looked straight ahead of him. "I knew it was you. The minute I saw you. No, actually the minute I saw your little boy. He looks like you," he said with a smile. I nodded. "He does. Alex says Michael is the spitting image of his beautiful mother," I said with a laugh. "Michael," Mike said carefully before he looked at me.

I could read the question in his eyes and simply nodded. "Yes, I named him after the man I could not be with. He's named after you," I told him. Mike looked at me proudly and wanted to say something but at that moment the little one inside me started moving. "Put your hand on my belly," I said quickly while I guided his hand towards the kicking. "Feel that?" I said while I looked at him. Mike looked at my belly in full concentration and smiled while my little one was kicking like a madman. "Alex hopes it's going to be a girl," I told him with a laugh. "So he can name her after one of his exes," I added. Mike looked at me worriedly. "Does he know? About me? About what happened to you?" he asked. "I had to. He knows I'm in witness protection and over the years I've been telling him bit by bit what happened. He didn't know Michael was named after you until that day when we saw each other again. That day I had just found out I was pregnant with this one," I said while I caressed my belly. "I had called him earlier that morning telling him I had some good news but by the time he got home I was crying and sad and, well, a mess basically. I had to tell him about you," I answered.

Mike took a deep breath and I knew a more serious question would follow now. "Can you tell me what happened back then? I mean, I came back from patrol and Maxine told me you had died. It-" he stopped to take another deep breath. The situation had become so tense I could feel the tension go through my own body. "I don't remember much of what happened. My brain doesn't want to give back certain details. I did read some of the transcripts and I think I should be glad that I can't remember. The first memory I had was waking up in hospital with a splitting headache. Andrew was in the room and as far as I understand they wanted to move me to another, safer, place. Cavanaugh knew I wasn't dead when we got back to Cairns and the feds were scared someone would show up at the hospital to finish me off. They hadn't expected me to wake up so soon though. They took me to a safe house where I was being treated for the physical and mental injuries. In the mean time they told you I had died so Cavanaugh would not look for me," I explained.

It was the first time I told this story, since telling Alex, but to my own surprise it felt good telling it to Mike. "At the trial Cavanaugh said that he didn't believe I was dead and that if he ever saw me or found out where I was he would kill me. _That_ meant that as long as Cavanaugh is alive I can't come out of hiding. They gave me a new identity, a new life and that was that. Kate McGregor would be dead forever," I said with a sigh. Mike caressed my arm and tried to smile to make me feel better. "Are you happy now?" he asked me. It sounded like he would whisk me away if I would say no. "It took a while but I'm happy now. I married a great guy, have a beautiful son who just turned three and in just a few more weeks I'm going to be a mother for the second time. Oh and I almost forget I've got a great job and wonderful friends," I answered.

Meeting Mike here in this elevator made me realise what a great life I was living right now but at the same time he was a reminder of my old life too. "I do miss the navy life though. I miss my old friends and everything I had to leave behind. Just like you never had the chance to say goodbye to me I couldn't say goodbye to my old life. You seriously have to cut all ties in order to start a new one. That's why I'm glad to hear you're engaged or to see you looking so good. We were given something only a very few people get to do; talk to the dead," I said. I started to feel gloomy. "When the doors open we have to say goodbye to each other and not look back even though I would love to have you in my life," I said. It was a painful truth and after I said it I didn't know what else to say.

We just sat down next to each other for a while until the phone rang again. Mike was quicker and got up to take the receiver in his hand. "Mike Flynn," he said. He looked at me and handed me the receiver. "It's your husband," he said. I took the receiver from him. "Hi," I said. Alex sounded worried. "Are you alright? Suzy here said you lost your balance. There's nothing wrong with you, is there? Did you hurt yourself?" he asked me. I smiled and shook my head. "I'm fine. This man here was very nice and made sure I didn't hit the wall. I just pressed the stop button by accident," I told Alex. "The technicians just arrived and he will make sure you're out of there in no time," Alex told me. I had that a double feeling again. I wanted to be saved and have Alex fuss over me but at the same time I didn't want my time with Mike to end. "That's fine," I said hoping he wouldn't hear my true feelings. "The technician just said he has to turn off the electricity for a second so we've got to hang up. The lights will go off as well so it will be dark. Don't do anything silly, OK?" Alex teased me. "Silly?" I teased him back. "I wouldn't dare and I'm sitting down so I can't lose my balance anymore. Not even against this handsome man," I kept on teasing.

Mike looked at me in amazement while I ended the conversation and handed him back the receiver. "Are you going to tell him who I am?" he asked me before he sat down again. "Eventually. Maybe not today," I answered. At that moment the lights went off and it became pitch black. "Alex warned me. The electrician has to cut off all electricity for a second," I explained. Suddenly I felt Mike's arm slip around me. "I'll make sure you're safe," he teased. I snuggled against him and put my head on his shoulder. This was nice. We didn't say anything and I was just listening to his breathing. "How come you're at the police station?" I wondered after a few minutes. "I'm here because Alex works here," I added. I felt Mike shrug. "Our rental car got stolen. Amber's parents live near Canberra. She took her mother shopping today and I spent some time in book stores. I came back to where I had parked the car to find it missing," he explained.

We became silent again and I let my arm slid behind his back to make even more contact with his body. "Are you still stationed on the Hammersley?" I asked him, thinking back at the boat which I had called home for a few years. "No. I got my desk job back not long after your death. I still work at Navcom but I do get to come on board Hammersley once in a while. You see, Amber has just been promoted to Lieutenant Commander and is the CO now," he told me. I could hear the pride in his voice. He really was in love with this woman. "Are there still people stationed on the Hammersley that I know?" I wondered. Mike moved but I couldn't see what he was doing. "Even Bird has been transferred off the ship," he said on which I assumed the answer to my question would have been negative. "You mentioned Maxine. Is she still working at Navcom?" I asked. Mike chuckled. "You couldn't get her away even with a pickaxe. She is up for promotion though and might be getting a new position if she wants to or not," Mike answered.

"Could you tell her about me? She was so much involved in the whole process right before I had to go into witness protection. She came to visit me in hospital. That day I was in and out of consciousness but when she came around I was awake I just didn't have the energy to open my eyes or talk. She told me she was sorry for asking me to take the job with the feds and how sorry she was I ended up being-" I couldn't say the word. These days I tried to forget about it so instead I thought about what Maxine had told me. "She told me she was waiting for you to ask me _the_ question and that she had started to look for a good wedding present for us," I chuckled. "You know she wanted to give us baby clothes to show us we should hurry up and make little Mike and Kate Flynns," I said laughingly. "Will you tell her I'm fine?" I asked him.

At that moment the lights went back on and I could see how Mike was baffled. It was so funny to see that I leaned against him and gave him a quick kiss on his lips. "I knew you wanted to be my boyfriend but it's good to know you had bigger plans," I whispered. Mike returned a quick kiss although I felt he was going to deepen it. "Mike," I warned him while I softly pushed his face away from me. He backed off and shook his head. "It's not the same anymore is it?" he said out loud. I shrugged and felt a bit guilty. Once I had loved this man but kissing him now felt so awkward. "I'm sorry," I whispered. "Don't be," he quickly said while he got up. "You're married. You ought to be feeling strange kissing someone else," he said. I nodded. He was right. I wanted to say more about it but the elevator started moving. Mike helped me to get up and I straightened my clothes. "That was it," I said. "I'm glad we got this chance to meet and tell each other we're doing fine. You'll always on my mind," I said as quick as I could. There wasn't much more time before the doors would open again. "I'm really glad to have had this short time with you too. I'll always miss Kate McGregor but I'm glad to know you're doing great. Let Alex know he's the luckiest man in the country," Mike told me just as quick.

The elevator stopped and the doors opened. On the other side my beautiful husband was waiting for me. "Oh darling. You had me worried," he said while he put his arms around me. "I'm fine," I said into his shoulder so I wondered how much of it would be understandable to him. I looked around and saw Mike standing there a bit forlornly. "Alex, this is Mike. He has kept me company," I introduced Mike to the new man in my life. "And Mike this is Alex, my husband," I said. The two men shook each other's hand while Alex never let go of me. He wanted to make sure I wouldn't get myself in any more trouble. "It was nice meeting you Mike," I said as if it was the very first time we had met. "You too," he replied but he wanted to add something to it. "I don't even know your name," he said cheekily. I thought for a second on how to answer this. I shouldn't tell him. It was one of the rules of witness protection but it would seem really rude if I didn't tell him after having spent half an hour with him in an elevator. "Stephanie Callaghan," I finally told him. Mike smiled triumphantly and nodded. "Well it was nice to meet you too Stephanie. Hopefully we'll meet again but now I need to report that my car was stolen," he said. He looked at the elevator and then decided to take the stairs. "It's safer," he joked before he left me behind.

I kept staring at the last spot where I had seen Mike until Alex prodded me to come home with him. "I called mum and she's bringing Michael to us so we don't have to pick him up," he told me although I only registered half of what he was saying. "You're sure we don't have to go to the hospital first?" he asked me a bit worried. "No, not the hospital," I said alarmingly. "I'm not going there until I'll pop out Mr little one," I said defensively. "_Miss_ little one," he corrected me teasingly. I looked at him and shook my head. "Fine. _Miss_ little one. As long as her name won't be Lisa or Jennifer or Kate," I said, faking to be disgusted. The constable at the front desk laughed at us squabbling. "Sir, I think she's fine," she said laughingly to Alex. He smiled at her and nodded. "True. I think I'll take her home and try and convince her there's nothing wrong with Kate, Jennifer or Lisa," he said. The names he said in my ear. I just laughed. If it was a girl I wouldn't mind calling her Kate. Mike and I had both moved on with our lives but at least somewhere in the world a Mike and Kate could be together. "Alex, let's go home," I suggested.

The End

*Her name isn't Kate anymore... of course... I actually didn't want to give away her new identity but Mike Flynn was a bit too smart and got it out of her/me anyway.


End file.
